Commandstar Aurora
by NOVARAY
Summary: What happened to the survivors back on the Colonies after the Galactica left? Did Admirals Nagala and Corman have another plan?
1. Chapter 1

This is a work of fan fiction written purely for enjoyment and not for profit.

**Commandstar Aurora**

**The Twelve Colonies**

When the twelve tribes of man left Kobol, they settled in the Cyrannus star cluster. This was an open cluster, which consisted of slightly more then fifteen hundred stars. Many of these stars were less then one eighth of a light year apart and some even closer then that. The central star of this cluster was a main sequence G2V type star with two slightly smaller G type stars in close orbit, forming a rare triple star system. The two orbiting stars were just far enough away so as not to seriously affect planetary orbits but still close enough to form a firm gravitational bond between the three.

When scout ships from Kobol found the three stars, they were amazed to find twelve habitable planets. The scout ships also found a number of habitable moons. Word was quickly sent back and the Twelve Colonies were established.

The main star would comprise the center of Colonial life, while the two orbiting stars would become known as the Outer Colonies. While the Outer Colonies did have a lot of resources, the main center of population was in the Caprica system.

_Author's note: I am aware that there is a new map out that shows the Colonies as being a four star system. However, in the original series the Colonies are reported to be in a three star system, this was also mentioned by one the scientific advisors of Battlestar Galactica 2003. There is no doubt that as this series has grown, with the Plan and later Caprica, that individuals involved with the show have put forth different ideas as to the makeup of the Cyrannus system. If the new show dealing with the original Cylon war is produced, the makeup of the Cyrannus system will continue to evolve. For my story, I am sticking with the original three star system._

**Current Day**

Caprica is located in the center system and is the third planet out from its sun. It is heavily industrialized and has a population of 11.5 billion. Also in the Caprica system are the inhabited planets of Gemenon, Aquaria, Aerilon and Tauron.

The planets Gemenon and Caprica share the same orbital path around the system's primary. They are twin planets, which orbit a common center of gravity. Many Colonial astronomers claim this could not be a natural occurrence. They point out that sometime in the far distant past; the three systems had to have been terra formed by an advanced race. Because there is no trace of such a race or any evidence of past occupation on any of the Colonies, this belief is currently held in low esteem and even scoffed at by most scientists and scholars. Alien life does not exist!

Tauron is the second planet out from the systems primary and possesses a very warm and arid climate.

The planets Aerilon and Aquaria are the fifth and seventh planets out from the sun orbiting in the Lagrange points of the gas giant Ragnar.

There are also a number of small asteroid fields in the system and a large number of moons orbiting the planets. Many of the larger asteroids and moons have small colonies or mining facilities located on them. There are also a large number of orbital stations and defense facilities scattered throughout the system as well. The Caprica system contains twelve planets and thirty four moons.

The star nearest the Cylon border, sometimes called the Red Line or Armistice Line has the following colonized planets. Leonis, Canceron, Libran, and Scorpia, there are four other planets in the system as well as numerous moons and several large asteroid fields. Since these Colonies are located close to the Cylon border, these planets also possess very powerful orbital defensive grids. The defensive grids consist of a series of powerfully armed satellites that can fire both offensive and defensive missiles.

The star fartherest from the Cylon border contains the colonized planets of Picon, Sagittaron, and Virgon. There are six other planets in the system as well as numerous moons and a huge asteroid field between the seventh and eighth planets. The asteroid field is heavily industrialized. The field is rich in minerals and supplies many of the raw materials for the massive shipyards orbiting Picon, Sagittaron, and Virgon. Picon also has a large moon with a viable atmosphere. The moon contains the largest Tylium deposits in the Colonies. Several large companies run major mining operations on the moon.

Many of these planets, not including Caprica and Gemenon, when first settled were very hostile to human life. While they did have an oxygen atmosphere, many of the plants and animals were highly dangerous to human life. The Colonies were gradually terra formed, with the colonists introducing human crops, plants, trees, and animals brought with them from Kobol. Over a period of centuries, the planets gradually become more hospitable to human life.

Total human population of the three star systems is 55.2 billion people spread out over twelve main planets, numerous moons, asteroids, and several nearby star systems.

**Colonial Military**

After the first Cylon war, the Colonial military went through a substantial increase in size. Because of the horrors and tremendous civilian casualties of the war, the public demanded that a large Colonial Fleet be constructed to protect the Colonies. They wanted to insure that nothing like the Cylon attack could ever occur again.

However, as the years passed and there was no sign of the Cylons, the huge expense of maintaining a massive military fleet began to weigh heavily upon the Colonies and the politicians who were their leaders. Money could be diverted, if military spending was drastically reduced, to many desirable civilian projects. As a result, the fleet began to be scaled back, even against dire warnings of future disaster by the senior fleet Admirals. Massive cuts in spending were quickly implemented much to the dismay of the protesting Admirals.

The politicians decided that the more versatile Gunstars and Escortstars were more practical to deal with pirates and to patrol Colonial space. As a result, construction of these lighter units was increased substantially and construction of Battlestars and new fleet bases was drastically reduced. This resulted in a thirty percent decrease in defense spending, which the politicians put enthusiastically into enormous civilian projects.

While Battlestars were still being constructed, the pace was much slower then in the past. Numerous and older heavier fleet units, which were expensive to maintain, were retired and decommissioned to make way for the new smaller multipurpose Gunstars and Escortstars. At the time of the Cylon attack upon the Colonies, the Colonial Fleet consisted of 123 Battlestars, 134 Gunstars, and nearly 172 Escortstars. While this was still an impressive fleet, it was a forty percent reduction in firepower from the fleet that had existed just ten years previously.

There were even rumors of plans for the Battlestar Fleet to eventually be reduced to 60 units of the newer Mercury class. Two specially designed Nova Class Commandstars, which were just beginning to be constructed, would share command of the fleet.

Many top Admirals feared that if the cuts continued and the Cylons did return, the fleet might not be able to stop them. When these concerns were voiced to the Colonial politicians, the majority only scoffed at the Admirals and pointed out that not a single Cylon had been seen in nearly forty years. The Cylons were gone and they were not coming back! The Admirals were told to go back to their jobs and the politicians continued to look enthusiastically for more defense cuts to pad their budgets. The happier they could make the civilian population, the easier it was for them to stay in office.

**Commandstar Aurora**

** FALL OF THE TWELVE COLONIES**

**CYRANNUS SYSTEM**

**DAY ONE**

**COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER**

**BATTLESTAR ATLANTIA **

**PICON SHIPYARDS, PICON**

Admiral Robert Nagala made his way across the busy CIC to the operation's table where his Exec, Commander Owens, expectantly awaited. Around him, the CIC bustled with activity as the crew busily made their beginning of the shift status checks. They had just completed a minor refit at the shipyard and been resupplied.

"Good morning sir," Commander Owens said looking over at the Admiral. He had been on duty for over an hour to insure that he was up to date on the ship's status when the Admiral arrived in the CIC. Owens had been extremely busy finishing up last minute details so they could leave the shipyard on time.

"Morning Jason," Nagala replied with a friendly nod. "What's the status of the ship?"

"Refit is complete and all supplies are on board," Commander Owens reported promptly. "The last of the crew reported in early last night from leave on Picon. Our Escortstars and Gunstars are on standby and awaiting your orders."

"And the Battlestars?" Admiral Nagala asked glancing down at the operation's table which showed the Picon system in detail."

"Both the New Providence and Centrus are in position awaiting orders for our departure," Commander Owens replied checking a status screen next to the operation's table.

The New Providence and Centrus were powerful Jupiter Class Battlestars. They both contained the latest weapons and equipment and had recently gone through a full refit.

Nagala smiled. "You did an excellent job with the refit and resupply Jason."

"The station crew was very professional as always," Commander Owens replied. "The refit went very smoothly. How was your meeting with Admiral Corman?"

"Just routine Jason," Nagala replied carefully. He didn't want to worry Jason too much about Admiral Corman's concerns about all the strange Dradis readings being detected across the Armistice Line. They had a secret mission out to check Cylon space, but no word had been received from BSGS1 since its departure several months back. Security had been stepped up along the Armistice line but so far, other then the mysterious Dradis readings, nothing more had happened. Admiral Corman was afraid the Cylons were up to something, but what that might be neither Admiral Corman nor Admiral Nagala could figure out. Hopefully Admiral Reed's mission would answer that.

"Anything else?" Nagala asked as an ensign appeared and handed him a cup of strong steaming black coffee, which had almost become a morning ritual. Nagala took a cautious sip of the coffee, his eyes roaming knowingly across the CIC. Everyone was busy doing their assigned tasks, not only was the Atlantia the fleets most powerful ship, but Nagala knew she had the best crew!

"Just another officer was sent to Armistice Station this morning," Commander Owens replied with a frown appearing on his face. "They should have docked at Armistice Station about an hour ago. Fleet headquarters reports all is quiet and no sign of the Cylons. The same as it has been for the last forty years! We might as well dismantle the station and save the costs of maintaining it for all the good that it does. I'm surprised the politicians haven't suggested it already, considering the way they've been cutting everything else back!"

"I'd feel a lot better if the Cylons did show up at the station," Nagala replied with a dark look crossing his face at the mention of politicians. "I just wonder what we will do some day when they do? What have they been doing all these years back behind the Armistice Line? Patrol ships have reported numerous distant contacts recently on Dradis, possibly of new and more powerful Basestars. Someday we could be in for a very rude awakening Jason. That's why the fleet must always be vigilant. For someday the Cylons will return!"

Commander Owens didn't reply. He knew that this was a very real concern for the Admiral. It was also a matter that concerned him deeply also.

**COLONIAL FLEET HEADQUARTERS **

**NEAR QUEENSTOWN, PICON**

Peter Corman, Fleet Admiral and Commanding Officer of the Colonial Fleet paused briefly before walking into the immaculate Fleet Command Conference Room. These morning briefings were becoming too routine, he needed to find something to break the monotony. He feared his Command Staff was becoming too complacent. Nodding at the marine, who opened the door, Admiral Corman entered and walked to the head of the table still entranced in deep thought. He hardly noticed the men and women who rose as he entered the room. He sat down and then looking up at the others, he motioned for them to do the same.

As everyone sat down he opened the blue folder in front of him, it seemed that as Fleet Admiral the paperwork never ended. He quickly read the two pages inside the folder and then looked back up. "So what's the status today John?" He said looking over at Commander John Reinholt as he settled back into his chair looking at the assembled men and women. Commander Reinholt was responsible for the agenda for these daily meetings.

"The 12th and 15th Battlestar Groups are beginning a series of exercises in the outskirts of the Caprica system today," Commander Reinholt began. "Olympus Fleet Station will monitor the exercises with hourly status reports to Admiral Nagala. Admiral Nagala has suggested a few minor changes that he wants included in the war games. Admiral Reynolds reports that the exercises are ready to begin and they will initiate the first of them later this afternoon."

"These exercises should be interesting. I would very strongly recommend that all of you study the results of these exercises very thoroughly. Admiral Reynolds is an excellent tactician and not afraid to take a few calculated risks. I am curious to see what surprises he throws at the 12th," Corman commented. Admiral Kincaid, who was an older Admiral and preferred doing everything by the book, commanded the 12th Battlestar Group. "Keep me apprised of the exercises."

He knew that Admiral Nagala would also find these exercises interesting. He had known Admiral Nagala for many years and there was no more competent officer in the fleet as well as a trusted friend. Even though they had been at peace for forty years, the Admirals of the fleet took these occasional fleet exercises quite seriously. The exercises were used to insure the continued readiness of the Colonial Fleet. "What about the Pegasus refit, how is it going?"

"Admiral Cain is being her usual charming self," Commander Reinholt replied shaking his head. "I am sure the Commander of the shipyard will be extremely glad when the refit is completed."

"She is a very competent Admiral," Corman commented with a slight nod of his head. "However sometimes I wonder about her people skills and patience."

"The Pegasus refit is on schedule. The new heavier bow KEWs have been installed as well as the new computer network," Commander Reinholt said as he continued. "Admiral Cain reports that she is quite pleased with the results so far. She says the new bow KEWs should greatly enhance the Pegasus's offensive capability. She has allowed part of her crew, not involved with the refit, liberty while the refit progresses."

"Has our emissary arrived at Armistice Station?" Admiral Corman asked wondering what the odds were of the Cylons showing up. So far they hadn't in forty years, he doubted today would be any different. But all the Dradis contacts they had been picking up on the edge of their sensors still had him feeling ill at ease. He wished Admiral Reed would report back from his mission. Then perhaps they would have a better idea of just what the Cylons were doing. Admiral Nagala and he had discussed these Dradis readings in detail; neither was sure just what they meant. They couldn't imagine a Cylon attack on the Colonies; the Colonial Fleet even after all the reductions of the past few years was still too powerful. They were up to something else but they didn't know what.

"Our emissary arrived slightly over an hour ago," Commander Reinholt replied looking down at a short report laying in front of him. "We received confirmation from the Escortstar that took him to the station. There is no sign of the Cylons. They will stay docked for another twelve hours before returning."

Corman was quiet for a moment thinking about Armistice Station and what it signified. "Someday they are going to show up people," he said with a tinge of worry in his voice as he looked about the assembled group of Command Officers. He recalled the Valkyrie incident of a few years back, something that had been kept highly classified. He hoped that hadn't ticked the Cylons off. "I just hope we are not in for a surprise when they do. These fleet cuts of recent years will be very troubling if the Cylons ever do put in an appearance."

Reinholt nodded in agreement, as did several other officers. He too worried about the Cylons, these many years of no contact was troubling.

"Galactica's retirement ceremony is today," Reinholt continued.

"What official from the government is attending?" Corman asked curious to know if they would even acknowledge the Galactica and what she stood for.

"Just the Secretary of Education and a couple of other minor dignitaries," Reinholt replied looking down at another note on the table. He knew the Admiral wouldn't be happy about that.

"The Secretary of Education!" Admiral Corman spoke shaking his head sadly in disbelief. "The Galactica is the last of the active Columbia Class Battlestars from the Cylon war. You would think the Colonial Government could send a better representative then a school teacher!"

"The Galactica is being turned into a museum in memory of the Cylon war," Reinholt replied knowing how Corman felt about how the Grand Old Lady of the fleet was going to be used. "This Laura Roslyn supposedly will be involved in part of that."

Corman nodded, he was silent for a long moment as he thought. He had known Bill Adama for years. They had gone to the Academy together here on Picon. They had even served together for a few years aboard the Galactica toward the end of the first Cylon war. He had been a young ensign at the time. If not for a few screw ups in his career such as the Valkyrie incident, which Corman felt was not Adama's fault; Adama would have made Admiral easily. But the politicians had stood in the way. They felt they had to blame someone for the screw up and Commander Adama had been their chosen fall guy.

"The Galactica will dock at Olympus Fleet Station in four days," Reinholt continued after consulting his notes and finding the necessary information. She will stay there for one week and then a transfer crew will take her out to the Boneyards for final decommissioning. Once all of her weapons and military equipment have been removed, she will be returned to the Colonies as a traveling museum dedicated to the Cylon war. They will also be installing a new computer network on the Galactica for the museum."

"Adama won't like that; he has always been opposed to computer networks because of the Cylons," Corman replied with a slight grimace knowing how Adama must feel. "Well I guess since he won't be in command of the Galactica anymore it won't matter. Schedule a shuttle for me and inform Commander Adama that I will be meeting him at Olympus Station. Send a message to the Atlantia and inform Admiral Nagala that I will expect the Fleet Flagship to be there also," Corman ordered. At least the Fleet could give the Galactica the kind of send off she deserved!

"That's all the important items sir. The rest are just minor day to day operation schedules that need to be gone over with the Senior Staff, there is nothing more requiring your attention," Commander Reinholt said looking across the table at the Admiral.

"Very well," Corman replied as he stood and the rest of the officers rose.

With that, the meeting ended. Corman sighed as he left the conference room; even staff meetings had become extremely mundane. He worried that everyone was taking the current status quo for granted. Perhaps it was time he scheduled some extreme war games, which would include his Senior Staff out in the field. He would make a point of talking to Admiral Nagala and Admiral Clements about it.

**BATTLESTAR ATLANTIA**

In high orbit above Picon, the Atlantia vanished in a brief flash of white light as she jumped away to begin a round of routine inspections. Her two escorting Battlestars, four Gunstars, and four Escortstars jumped with her.

Admiral Nagala felt the Atlantia come out of jump. They had jumped just to the outskirts of the Picon system. There had been a few modifications made to the jump computer and he had wanted to confirm that everything was functioning properly. The new modifications should allow for better and more accurate computations, which would allow the Atlantia to make longer and more precise jumps. He knew that part of this new computation technology had come from Shadow Base and Admiral Kronus. Because of the star density in the Cyrannus cluster, it was difficult to plot long FTL jumps. Most jumps were limited to a maximum of five light years due to safety protocols.

"All ships in post jump position," the Dradis officer confirmed from his station.

"No deviation?" Commander Owens asked looking over at the Dradis officer.

"None what so ever sir," the Dradis officer replied rechecking ship positions quickly. "All ships are in their exact post jump positions as calculated by the jump computer."

"Plot our jump to Canceron," Nagala ordered looking over at Commander Owens. "We will begin our inspections with the small shipyard there."


	2. Chapter 2

**FLEET COMMAND CENTER**

**NEAR QUEENSTOWN, PICON**

It had been several hours since the Staff Meeting as Admiral Corman stepped into the busy Fleet Command Center. He instantly knew that something was wrong. He could feel the extra tension hanging in the air. "Is there a problem Colonel?" He asked walking over to Colonel Matheson who was the current duty watch officer.

Turning, Colonel Matheson looked at Admiral Corman with surprise. He hadn't seen the Admiral enter the Command Center. He would have to remember to have some curt words later with the two heavily armed marine guards standing at the entrance for failing to announce the Admiral.

"We've lost contact with the 12th and 15th Battlestar Groups," Matheson responded with a hint of worry in his normally calm voice. "We've tried all the regular fleet communications channels and have received no response. Admiral Simmons is currently over at fleet communications. He has used his authorization code to send an emergency sub space signal on Fleet Com line Alpha to the two Battlestar Groups. There still has been no response!"

Now Corman began to feel some anxiety. How could two Colonial fleets loose communication with Fleet Command? Two fleets in the Caprica system no less. Admiral Simmons was the Chief of Staff for the Colonial Fleet, or second in command behind Corman, if he couldn't make contact with the two fleets there was something very seriously wrong! Corman looked up at the far wall where the huge HD screens of the Caprica system were located. He noticed that several were covered in static.

Admiral Corman then looked around the massive Fleet Command Center. They were over twelve hundred meters below the surface of Picon. The Fleet Command Center was located deep underground beneath heavy bedrock, spreading through numerous underground levels, protected by massive blast doors, and a sprawling military base up above on the surface. Huge Dradis and sensor arrays continuously swept the skies and nearby space to warn of any impending danger. Massive rail gun and interceptor missile batteries sat ready to engage any hostile detected. It was the most heavily defended ground base in the Colonies. On its spaceport, over one hundred raptors and eight squadrons of vipers sat in specially shielded bunkers ready to be deployed at a moments notice. Four heavily armored shuttles were in underground hangers ready to evacuate key personnel if necessary. Now this base had lost communication with two Battlestar Groups!

Admiral Simmons hurried up to the operation's station where Admiral Corman and Colonel Matheson waited expectantly.

"What's going on Admiral?" Corman demanded looking at his Second in Command. "Why can't we contact our fleets and why are some of the view screens of the Caprica system not functioning?"

"Sir, we have just received this from Olympus Station. At approximately 1020 hours a partial message was received at Olympus Station in the Caprica System from Admiral Reynolds aboard the Battlestar Tauri," Admiral Simmons reported handing Admiral Corman the communiqué.

"What does it say?" Corman asked impatiently, wanting to find the underlying cause of what was going on. Occasional loss of communication with a ship or two was not uncommon, but two entire fleets!"

"Admiral Reynolds stated that a large body of unidentified ships had just jumped into extreme Dradis range and that he was closing with them to investigate. He also reports sending a coded message to the 12th Battlestar Group to join him," Admiral Simmons reported with a tinge of worry on his face. "There were no further messages after that. Repeated attempts by us as well as Olympus Station have not received any response."

"Has there been any contact with any of the other ships of the 12th or 15th Battlestar Groups since Admiral Reynolds sent the original message?" the Fleet Admiral asked with growing concern. This definitely was not normal! Admiral Reynolds was a very competent Admiral, there was no way he would risk his ships needlessly. Something was wrong, very wrong!

"No sir," Simmons replied. "We are having a hard time with communications in the Caprica system. We have lost several of our sub space information feeds causing some of the Caprica system's HD screens to be covered with static."

"What do you mean by that?" Admiral Corman asked sharply looking intently at Admiral Simmons. He couldn't recall this ever happening before.

"It started just a few minutes ago," Admiral Simmons replied in a worried tone of voice. "We have lost contact with a number of fleet stations as well as Aquaria and Aerilon in the Caprica system. We still have contact with Tauron, Caprica, Caprica Station, and Gemenon but very little else. He paused as a message came over the mini com in his right ear.

"What is it?" Corman asked seeing the agitated look of shocked surprise spreading across Simmon's face.

"We just lost contact with Olympus Fleet Station!" Simmons reported apprehensively "There is some type of interference that is affecting regular communication and it seems to be spreading. This may also be what is stopping us from contacting the two Battlestar Groups. But we have never experienced this type of interference before. Not across such a large area!"

"What about the rest of the Colonies?" Corman demanded starting to feel really concerned while trying to maintain an outward look of calm. A cold shiver spread across his back as if trying to warn him of impending danger.

"We still have contact with them; so far the only problem is in the Caprica system," Admiral Simmons replied looking up at the numerous screens, feeling reassured when he saw that they still showed normal views of the other Colonies and bases.

Corman shook his head deep in thought. "I don't like this. We need to send someone to investigate the Tauri's last reported position. A report of unknown ships in the Caprica system is a major concern, especially with today being Armistice Day. Order Admiral Nagala to take the Atlantia and her escorts to those coordinates immediately and investigate. He is not to engage any unknown ships but to report back here immediately. If there are indeed unknown ships, we need to identify them, find out who they are! We need to know exactly what we are up against, is this just pirates or something more serious."

"The Atlantia jumped a few hours ago. By now they're halfway to Canceron," Simmons said about to suggest they could send one of the two Battlestar Groups currently in orbit around Picon.

"I don't care! Send an Alpha One priority message to Admiral Nagala immediately. Tell him that, on my orders, he is to go to the Caprica system and check out this report of unknown ships. We need to know what is going on and we need to know now! Tell him to proceed very cautiously!" Admiral Corman said sounding slightly irritated. "Colonel Matheson I want the 23rd and 27th Battlestar Groups, which are currently at Valhalla Anchorage to be put on combat alert to support Nagala if need be. Inform them they may be making combat jumps against unknown hostile ships in the Caprica system!"

"Yes sir," Matheson replied as he hurried to pass on the orders.

"Sir we are beginning to lose contact with some of the other Colonies and bases. Communications are failing everywhere!" Admiral Simmons spoke worriedly as an ensign handed him a report and more disturbing information came across his mini com. Across the Fleet Command Center, the huge HD view screens, which showed views of the other Colonies, shipyards, and Colonial fleet bases were slowly being covered with static. Admiral Simmons closed his eyes briefly trying not to feel panic. Then he opened them looking over at Admiral Corman.

"Frak it." Corman hissed as he realized that this was not an isolated incident. Something serious was happening in the Colonies and this report of unknown ships really worried him. "Contact the Secretary of Defense and get him in here, he is currently visiting Queenstown. Contact the nearest fleet ship we can near Aquaria and order them to pick up the Vice President. He is touring a new rail transit tube between two of the underwater cities. Open up the emergency fleet communications channels and order all ships, shipyards, and bases to go to Condition One immediately!"

"What about President Adar?" Admiral Simmons asked looking questionly at Admiral Corman.

"Contact Admiral Clements at Caprica Station and see if he can do anything," Admiral Corman replied recalling that they still had contact with the massive station and shipyard above Caprica. "Have him inform the President to evacuate the government to the deep bunkers beneath the Capitol."

"Do you really think this is all necessary sir?" Colonel Matheson asked his face looking bewildered. "This could just be a bunch of pirates or a convoy off course. The interference could be caused by some type of spatial anomaly."

"If it was just the Caprica system I might believe that. But look at the screens; whatever this is it's spreading and spreading rapidly!" Corman replied as he moved past the Colonel and pressed a button on a command console, which allowed him to speak to the entire Fleet Command Center. "Attention; this is the Fleet Admiral. Moments ago, we began loosing contact with a number of our Colonies and bases. On my authority, I am moving us from Condition Four Alpha to Condition One Zero Zero. All off duty personnel are to report to their duty stations immediately!"

**BATTLESTAR ATLANTIA**

**IN TRANSIT TO CANCERON**

Admiral Nagala was in his quarters going over ship status reports when the alarms suddenly began to blare.

"Action stations! Actions stations! Set Condition One throughout the ship! This is not a drill. I say again this is not a drill!"

Nagala hit the button on his com unit on his desk and was instantly in contact with the CIC. "This is the Admiral: Sit rep." Nagala snapped with an impassive face wondering what the frak was going on. Nagala listened in silence, nodding his head every so often, a worried expression growing on his face. "Very well. Spin up the FTL drives and prepare for a combat jump. Have two squadrons of vipers in the tubes fully armed and ready for launch! Same for the other Battlestars. Recon raptors ready to go. I will be in the CIC shortly."

A few minutes latter, the Atlantia and her fleet jumped to the outskirts of the Caprica system.

"Jump complete," the navigation officer reported looking over at Commander Owens.

"Viper squadrons and recon raptors are launching," Owens reported as he listened to the various departments of the ship report in.

"Report all contacts," Nagala ordered looking up at the Dradis screen, which was beginning to clear from the jump interference. He saw the vipers form up in a protective shield around the massive Battlestar and the other ships of the fleet.

"Sir, I'm picking up a large field of objects at extreme range. From the varying sizes and trajectories I would say its debris of some type," the Dradis officer reported as he scanned the area around the Atlantia.

"Are you picking up any emergency beacons?" The Admiral asked with a sinking feeling in his gut. The huge view screens around the CIC showed nothing but empty space around the Atlantia. There were no signs of any Colonial ships!

"No sir," the com officer replied as he scanned all the emergency frequencies. "All channels are clear, no beacons!"

"Where are the 12th and 15th Battlestar Groups?" Commander Owens asked looking at the Dradis and then the view screens in confusion. "I can't imagine Admiral Reynolds allowing both fleets to be destroyed; he is too good a Commander for that!"

"Me neither Jason," Nagala replied feeling more confused about this situation, desperately wanting more information. Just what the frak was going on?

"Admiral," the communication's officer interrupted, his voice tinged with concern. "Recon raptors just found the starboard flight pod of the Battlestar Kallen. They also report that most of the wreckage matches the remains of Colonial ships!"

"Frak!" Admiral Nagala swore feeling his gut cave in. "Have them search the wreckage and try to identify what other ship remains are out there, we need to find out what happened." He knew that it would have taken an overwhelming force to take out Admiral Reynolds and his two fleets. He couldn't imagine the two Battlestar Groups not causing the enemy some major damage.

"The Kallen," Commander Owens spoke his face looking stunned. "That was Commander Trask's ship. I spoke with him less then a month ago! His daughter is starting her first year at the Fleet Academy on Picon."

"A very competent Commander," Admiral Nagala said remembering the officer, feeling pained at the thought that the Commander's young daughter would soon be getting a visit from a Colonial officer bearing bad news about her father and his ship. It looked like a lot of people would be getting visits. "What are we picking up on the communication channels?"

"We can't pick up anything in the Caprica system at the moment except the Caprica shipyards; the other channels are filled with some type of static. The shipyards are still broadcasting in the clear," the communication's officer replied. He couldn't understand why transmissions from the other Colonies and bases were not being received.

"Nothing from Olympus Fleet Station?" Nagala asked in surprise. He wasn't surprised about Caprica Station; they had the largest and most powerful communication system in the Colonies.

"No sir, whatever the static is, it's interfering with both normal and subspace communication," the communications officer reported frowning.

"I don't like this!" Admiral Nagala said as he moved to navigation and studied the detailed map of the Caprica system that was up on the main screen. He had a very worried feeling in the back of his mind. "Navigation, plot an in system jump to Olympus Fleet Station. Commander Owens I want the vipers and raptors back on board, have our vipers ready to launch upon my command when we arrive at Olympus. Order our escorts to standby for combat. If Olympus is under attack, we will engage whatever hostile forces are there. If not we will use Olympus as a base for our investigations."

"Admiral I must remind you that Admiral Corman specifically ordered us not to engage any hostiles until we identified them and reported back to Fleet Headquarters," Commander Owens commented looking over at Nagala with worry in his eyes.

"I know Jason," Admiral Nagala replied patiently. "But we might have to engage these forces in order to identify them, and we can't let a fleet station be destroyed if we have the power to save it!"

After recovering the recon raptors and vipers the Atlantia and her escorts jumped. Moments later the eleven ships flashed into existence at the planned coordinates.

"Dradis contact," the Dradis officer reported as soon as the screens cleared of static.

Olympus Fleet Station was a massive space station and fleet base, the second largest in the Caprica system, only Caprica Station was bigger.

Command Owens and Admiral Nagala both looked up at the Dradis screen expecting so see Olympus Fleet Station. But its familiar Dradis signal was not there!

"Picking up a lot of debris and an unknown ship," the Dradis officer reported scanning his screens quickly. A red threat icon had appeared moving slowly through the location of where Olympus should be.

"Scan that ship, I want to know what it is and who it is," Admiral Nagala snapped. "Commander Owen, bring our weapons systems on line and prepare for combat. I want our heavy KEW batteries targeted on that ship. I want a firing solution yesterday! Order our escorts into standard diamond attack formation around the Atlantia. Standby to launch all viper squadrons! If that ship is responsible for this, I want to take it out and find out who the frak they are! Olympus Fleet Station was heavily armed, it would have taken a lot of firepower to destroy the station and the ships stationed here!"

"Yes sir," Commander Owens replied as he moved swiftly to comply with the Admiral's orders.

The CIC was deathly quiet as they gazed in shock at the view screens, which were focused on where the station should be. It was obvious that Olympus Fleet Station had been destroyed. A slowly expanding cloud of glowing gas and debris was all that was left in orbit where the huge fleet station once resided. Other drifting debris looked like the remains of destroyed ships. Olympus Fleet Station had been a heavily armed and a major fleet base. It would not have been an easy target to take out, something here was not right. With the heavy defenses and viper wings the station had at its disposal, plus the ships normally at the fleet base it should have been able to hold its own until help arrived.

"Sir we have two more ships jumping into range. All three ships are of Capital ship size," the Dradis officer warned as two more red threat icons appeared on his screen.

On the Atlantia's main view screen a deathly silence filled the CIC as a dual Y shaped warship with a large central axis filled the screen and began launching squadrons of raiders. With the launching of the raiders there was no longer any doubt about who the attackers were.

"Fraking Cylons," Commander Owens swore softly into the stunned silence of the CIC. "They're back!"

"Emergency jump!" Admiral Nagala ordered as he stared at the large view screen. They had to get this information back to Admiral Corman. As much as he would like to strike back at these ships, it was more important to get this information back to Fleet Command. The Cylons had returned and from the looks of things were launching an all out attack on the Colonies. He hoped his daughter Andrea was safe out in the Caspian system. Nagala knew that with its resource rich asteroid field, it would be a prime Cylon target. He had placed some fleet assets there just in case, but he had not expected anything like this.

The Atlantia and her escorts vanished just before the lead Cylon raider was able to hit the Battlestar with a coded communication. The raiders continued flying through the former location of the massive Battlestar, their attempt to activate their deadly network virus ineffective for now.

**COLONIAL FLEET HEADQUARTERS**

**OUTSIDE QUEENSTOWN, PICON**

Fleet Admiral Corman watched as the situation rapidly deteriorated. His eyes roamed across the massive Command Center seeing panic and fright on many of the faces of the men and women manning the stations. Looking up at the wall, he saw that many of the large HD screens were blank and only a few still showed information. Fear of the unknown was spreading through the Command Center.

"Bring up the tactical display from Scorpia," he commanded seeing that they still had some communication with the Colony and bases around it. The Pegasus was there as well as the rest of Admiral Cain's Battlestar Group.

Immediately the screen in front of him displayed the Scorpia system with her eight planets and the ships and stations scattered throughout. "Display grid sector Scorpia-one-alpha," he ordered his gaze focused intently on the screen. The planet Scorpia appeared on the screen and seemed to be peacefully floating in space. For a moment, Admiral Corman allowed himself to relax. Then he saw what looked like large explosions tearing into the Scorpion shipyards. The shipyards were under attack!

"Who the frak is attacking the shipyards!" Colonel Matheson uttered in shock, as what was obviously a nuke went off tearing apart one section of the massive Colonial shipyard. "What's going on?"

"Contact Admiral Davidson and have him jump to Scorpia immediately and secure the situation there!" Admiral Corman snapped. "There are two other Battlestar Groups in orbit around Scorpia plus Admiral Cains; they are to be placed under his command. I want him to deploy his ships to screen and protect Scorpia and her moons. Also order the fourth and sixth Battlestar Groups to reinforce him there." He wondered if Admiral Cain had escaped the attack on the shipyards. He hoped so; he could use her resourcefulness in what was to come.

"Admiral, I have an incoming priority signal from the Atlantia. It's Admiral Nagala!" Announced Admiral Simmons hurrying up to the Admiral his eyes wide in disbelief at what he was seeing on the view screen.

"Put him through," Corman said as he activated his mini com, still staring at the screen that showed the Scorpion shipyards being reduced to glowing debris. They had yet to identify the attackers. "Atlantia, this is Admiral Corman, what is the situation, did you find Admiral Reynolds?"

"Fleet Command this is Admiral Nagala," Nagala's calm voice reported. "The 12th and 15th Battlestar Groups have been confirmed to have been destroyed. We jumped to Olympus Fleet Station and it to has been destroyed. However at the station's position we encountered a number of large warships which we believe were responsible for the stations destruction and probably the two Battlestar Groups as well."

"Is it the Cylons?" Admiral Corman asked afraid of what the answer was going to be. He had been dreading this moment for years. Had the Valkyrie incident precipitated this attack, or even worse had the Cylons detected Admiral Reed! "We are currently showing an attack in progress at the Scorpion shipyards. I have dispatched Admiral Davidson and several Battlestar Groups to Scorpia to take control of the situation."

The com line was silent for a moment and Corman thought he had lost the connection. Then Nagala's familiar voice returned. "Yes sir. The ships are of a new and larger design then the ones they used in the last war. They launched raiders when they saw us. We believe from the technical data we were able to gather and from the raiders that we saw being launched that it is indeed the Cylons!"

"Do you have any idea how they managed to destroy the 12th and 15th Battlestar Groups and Olympus Fleet Station?" Admiral Corman asked concerned that the Cylons had developed some type of new and deadly weapon. He also wondered just how the frak they were hitting the Scorpion shipyards so successfully. The shipyards were heavily armed and had a number of viper squadrons available for their defense. Where were the fleet units that should be protecting Scorpia and the shipyards? Counting Admiral Cain's there were almost three complete Battlestar Groups at Scorpia.

"No sir," Admiral Nagala replied. "We didn't stick around long enough to find out. Do you want me to jump to Scorpia and assist Admiral Davidson?"

"No Admiral, you are to begin gathering as many ships as possible for a counter attack," Admiral Corman ordered coming to a quick decision looking up at all the blank and static filled screens that lined the huge Command Center. "We have lost communication with a number of the Colonies and some of our fleet bases. We have to assume that a massive Cylon attack is under way. Until we know more, particularly how they managed to destroy Admiral Reynold's ships, I want to hold some of our forces back. You are to jump to Virgon immediately and begin assembling your fleet. Do not engage until I get back with you. We are still assessing the situation."

Admiral Corman knew that Virgon had a large fleet base in orbit, as well as several valuable shipyards, and was heavily fortified with orbital defenses. It was currently on the far side of its orbit away from Picon. The tenth Battlestar Group was also currently in orbit plus a number of ships that were docked to the shipyards for resupply and refit. It would be a good fall back position and allow the fleet time to assess exactly what was happening. They needed to know how Reynold's ships had been overwhelmed, as well as the powerful defenses of Olympus Fleet Station.

Nagala's voice came back over the com. "Yes sir, Atlantia out."

On the wall, more of the display screens began to flicker, their crystal clear images dissolving into static almost as if they were mocking the Admiral. Admiral Corman felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach knowing they were losing control of the situation very rapidly. If it was the Valkyrie incident or Admiral Reed's mission that had caused this, then the Admiral knew that he was to blame, because he had ordered both!

"What's going on?" Admiral Simmons demanded of the computer officer in charge of the Center's systems as even more screens began to fail, including some of the sensor and Dradis screens.

"Sir, it's some type of virus that's attacking our systems!" The computer officer replied breathlessly as he frantically tried talking to several of his assistants at once. "Either our systems have been hacked by an outside source or we have been sabotaged internally. We are trying to isolate the problem!"

"The Picon Fleet Shipyard is also reporting system problems," Colonel Matheson reported listening to a report over his mini com. "They are reporting power fluctuations and their main energizer has just gone off line! They are operating on their backup energizer at the moment. They did manage to get all fleet ships out of their docks before they lost power."

"What do we have in orbit," Admiral Simmons demanded looking up at a short range Dradis screen, which was still operating. All the long range screens were out!

"There are two Battlestar groups currently in orbit," Colonel Matheson replied. "Battlestar Groups 28 and 17, they have been reinforced by two Valkyrie Class Battlestars from the shipyards, two Assault Gunstars, and four Escortstars."

"Very well," Admiral Simmons replied nodding his head, they had a pretty powerful force in orbit, then turning to the communication's officer. "Contact Planetary Defense and have them ready all ground based viper and raptor squadrons for immediate deployment. Also inform them to bring the Planetary Defense Grid fully on line if they haven't already."

"We're blind," Admiral Corman said with growing worry looking at all the blank screens around the CIC, which were supposed to keep them informed of the status of the Colonies and fleet bases. "I want those screens back up as soon as possible. Increase security throughout the Fleet Command Center. Do what ever is necessary to get our systems back up. We have to know what's going on; the future of our Colonies might depend on it!"

"Colonel Matheson, order the shipyards to launch raptors and establish a Dradis perimeter out to two million kilometers," Corman continued wanting to see anything that might be headed their way. "I also want all viper squadrons on the shipyard to be ready to be launched at a moments notice for combat operations and to reinforce the Battlestar Groups if necessary."

"I hope you're right about all of this," Admiral Simmons commented cautiously looking over at Admiral Corman. "If this turns out to be some kind of accident, if those ships are not the Cylons the President will have you court martialed. You know how he feels about the military and wasted money. What you are requesting will spend millions of cubits just on Picon alone!"

"If this turns out to be wrong he can have my resignation," Corman replied angrily turning to Admiral Simmons. "If Admiral Nagala says it's the Cylons then you can bet your ass it is! Look at the Scorpion shipyards, there is no way that's pirates! You can mark my words that the Cylons will not have launched a minor attack upon the Colonies, no this will be an all out attempt to conquer us or to wipe us out, and so we had better get ready!"

Both men continued to look at each other for a long moment and then Admiral Simmons nodded as he activated the com unit on his Command console. "Operations set Picon Fleet Base's defense status to Condition One War One and standby for further orders, this is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill!"

Immediately the alarm klaxons began to sound as red lights began to flash throughout the huge underground complex. Upon the surface marines began to hurriedly leave their barracks and take up their assigned defensive positions. Massive defensive missile batteries became active as sensors began probing the sky for hostile targets. Dual defensive rail gun turrets swiveled around until their long barrels faced upwards. Defensive raptors began to take off and orbit the base, their loads of interceptor missiles ready to knock down any incoming target. Pilots stood by their vipers ready to launch at a moments notice. In the underground base massive blast doors began sliding shut as the base switched over to internal power.

"Do we still have fleet communications?" The Fleet Admiral asked after feeling that the base had been made as secure as possible.

"Yes sir, but only on the emergency bands and with no encrypting capabilities. We are trying to get Fleet Line Alpha back up but it may take a while. We'll have to broadcast in the clear," Colonel Matheson replied shaking his head worriedly. "The Cylons will be able to hear everything we say!"

"Then send the following message," Corman said his voice suddenly sounding weary. "To all Colonial Units, we have a massive Cylon attack underway. I repeat we have a massive Cylon attack underway, this is Admiral Corman Fleet Headquarter Picon." The Colonies were going to war!

"Sir," Admiral Simmons said a few minutes later with a pale shocked look upon his face as a communication's officer rushed up to him and spoke a few frantic sentences. "We are getting scattered reports of nukes being used on some of the Colonies. Several civilian channels are still broadcasting on the emergency frequencies and the broadcasts are being picked up by civilian ships and then being relayed on to us. It's definitely the Cylons, which has now been confirmed from other ships. We are also getting reports of power failures aboard some of our Battlestars; their systems are just shutting down when the Cylons appear. We are starting to lose ships, a lot of ships. Not only that, but the Cylons seem to know exactly where our Battlestar Groups are located. They are jumping right into our fleet formations!"

"Some type of computer virus," Admiral Corman replied angrily as he read the list of lost ships, which Admiral Simmons had just handed him. They were losing the fleet.

"A computer virus," Simmons said shocked his eyes widening. "How could they get a computer virus into our ship's systems?"

"Order all ships to disconnect and separate as much of their computer networks as possible, particularly their weapons and FTL systems!" Admiral Corman ordered thinking furiously. He had to preserve as much of the fleet as he could.

Admiral Simmons hurriedly passed on the orders. However, he knew that a lot of ships had already been lost.

"Order all ships to make emergency jumps in case our fleet dispositions have been compromised," Corman continued. "We can't afford massive ship losses this early. We must find out what is affecting our systems. And how the frak did they know our ship dispositions, they are highly classified! Contact Admiral Nagala and Admiral Davidson; they are to avoid any major engagement with the Cylons until we have had time to analyze what is affecting our ship's systems. If this keeps up they may shortly be the only heavy fleet units we have left!"

Turning to Colonel Matheson, "I don't care how you do it but get me a secure line to Admiral Clements at the Caprica Shipyards. I also want this communiqué sent to all ships on survey missions or deep space recon." He said handing Colonel Matheson a data disk that he kept on his person at all times. He was about to initiate a plan that he had prayed he would never have to, but the blank and static filled screens around the Fleet Command Center and the massive ship losses that were coming in said it might be their only hope of salvation. The disk had its own encryption, which the Cylons would not be able to break before the orders on the disk were carried out.

_Listed below are the ship classes currently involved in Commandstar Aurora. There will be others later._

**Mercury Class Battlestar**

**Length 1,790 meters**

**Width 600 meters**

**Height 400 meters**

**Crew 2,200**

**Marines 200**

**420 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**6 Heavy KEW batteries on the bow**

**6 Bow missile tubes**

**34 Medium heavy twin KEW turrets primarily on the port and starboard sides of the ship.**

**24 Missile tubes. Twelve each on the starboard and port side of the ship**

**200 vipers. Ten squadrons of 20 each**

**40 raptors**

**Mercury Class Battlestars are the most powerful ship in the Colonial Fleet. There are currently 18 active units.**

**Jupiter Class Battlestar**

**Length: 1,600 meters**

**Width: 450 meters**

**Height: 400 meters**

**Crew: 2,400**

**Marines: 250**

**340 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**4 Heavy KEW batteries on the bow**

**4 Bow missile tubes**

**12 Medium twin KEW turrets on the upper hull**

**24 Dual batteries capable of firing shells or missiles**

**6 Medium twin KEW turrets on the lower hull**

**16 Missile tubes. 8 on each on the starboard and port sides of the ship**

**160 vipers. Eight squadrons of 20 each**

**20 raptors**

**Jupiter Class Battlestars are nearly as powerful as the Mercury's. They are the fleet's second most powerful Battlestar and can act independently if necessary. There are currently 26 active units.**

**Valkyrie Class Battlestar **

**Length 1,200 meters**

**Width 400 meters**

**Height 225 meters**

**Crew 1,200**

**Marines 200**

**288 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**4 Heavy KEW batteries on the bow**

**2 Bow missile tubes**

**16 Dual batteries capable of firing shells or missiles**

**8 Medium KEW twin turrets on the upper hull**

**6 Medium KEW twin turrets on the lower hull**

**12 Missile tubes. Six on both the starboard and port sides of the ship**

**80 vipers. Four squadrons of 20 each**

**12 raptors **

**The Valkyrie Class Battlestar is the main workhorse of the Colonial fleet. There are seventy two Battlestars built off this design with a few variants built to handle other roles in the Colonial fleet. The Valkyries handle most patrol duties as well as escorting very large or valuable convoys. There are currently 72 active units. **

**Gunstar Defender Class**

**Length 800 meters**

**Width 175 meters**

**Height 150 meters**

**Crew 600**

**Marines 50**

**144 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**2 Medium heavy KEW batteries on the bow**

**2 Bow missile tubes **

**4 Medium KEW twin turrets on upper hull**

**2 Medium KEW twin turrets on the lower hull**

**12 vipers**

**2 raptors**

**The Defender Class Gunstar is the Colonial Fleets main escort vessel when a Battlestar is not available or felt necessary. It is used to escort civilian convoys as well as to perform regular patrols to smaller bases. It also plays an important role as part of a Battlestar Group with its defensive fire power. There are currently 86 active units.**

**Gunstar Assault Class**

**Length 750 meters**

**Width 150 meters**

**Height 125 meters**

**Crew 450**

**Marines 35**

**Highly Advanced ECM Capability**

**Highly Advanced Communications Array**

**80 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**2 Heavy KEW batteries on the bow**

**4 Bow missile tubes**

**6 Medium KEW twin turrets on upper hull**

**4 Medium KEW twin turrets on the lower hull**

**8 Missile tubes. Four on both the starboard and port sides of the ship**

**The Assault Class Gunstar is used for quick strike missions. Their ECM package allows them to approach a target almost undetected. The ship can then launch a quick assault with its heavy KEW bow batteries and its multiple missile tubes. Unfortunately because of its size, the Assault Gunstar does not carry large supplies of missiles and munitions. It must be resupplied on a regular basis. There are currently 48 active units.**

**Escortstar**

**Length: 500 meters**

**Width: 100 meters**

**Height: 75 meters**

**Crew: 300**

**Marines: 25**

**60 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**2 Medium KEW batteries on the bow**

**1 Bow missile tube**

**2 Medium twin KEW batteries on the upper hull**

**1 Medium twin KEW battery on the lower hull**

**The Escortstar is the most numerous ship in the Colonial Fleet**. **It is used as escorts for all Fleet Battlestar Groups as well as convoy duty. There are currently 172 active units.**


	3. Chapter 3

**CAPRICAN SHIPYARD AND STATION**

**ADMIRAL JOHNATHAN CLEMENTS**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

Admiral Johnathan Clements was going through the large mound of paperwork on his desk. He was patiently sorting through the weekly reports from various section heads; while he could have done this on his computer, he preferred the hard copies. He was in his office in his private quarters when the com unit sounded. His office was large and had a restive appearance. The paintings and other furnishings had been picked out by his wife, who spent an occasional weekend at the station whenever it was feasible for her to come up from their home in the suburbs of Caprica City.

As he reached for the com unit on his desk, the red Condition One lights came on and Major Adams calm commanding voice came over the station's com system. Admiral Clements looked up surprised wondering just what could be going on. He didn't have any type of drill scheduled for today!

Major Adams was second in command of the mammoth orbiting shipyard and space station that rested in orbit around the Capitol planet of the Colonies, Caprica. The shipyard was the busiest orbital structure in all of the Twelve Colonies by far.

"Attention all station personnel, set Condition One. This is not a drill; I repeat this is not a drill. Fleet Headquarters on Picon has just reported that a massive Cylon attack has commenced. I repeat, a massive Cylon attack has commenced on the Colonies. Fleet units are already reportedly heavily engaged with Cylon units. All viper and raptor pilots report to launch stations immediately! I repeat all viper and raptor pilots report to launch stations immediately for immediate deployment. Admiral Clements report to the CIC."

Admiral Clements instantly hit the switch on his desk's com unit. A Cylon attack! This was just what he and several other of the other top Admirals had been afraid of for years. This was why they had fought so hard against the fleet reductions and slow Battlestar construction rates. Frak, he hoped this was only a probe and not an all out attack on the Colonies!

"Status report," he ordered as he stood up and prepared to report to the CIC. He was very worried. There had been no sign of the Cylons in nearly forty years. Not since the end of the Cylon war, other then the classified incident with the Valkyrie. They didn't even show up for the yearly meeting at Armistice station. Just how massive was this attack? He needed to contact Admiral Corman or Nagala and find out just what the situation was.

The voice of Major Adams replied obediently and smoothly. "Fleet Headquarters Picon reports that a massive Cylon fleet has jumped into Colonial space. Battlestar Groups are being sent out to engage, some are already engaged with Cylon units that jumped into their vicinity. We are also beginning to get reports of civilian vessels being attacked and rumors on the civilian com systems of nukes being used on some of the Colonies. We have numerous communication failures throughout the Colonies and many are currently operating only on the emergency channels."

"Have all bases and stations implemented Condition One?" Clements asked. He was responsible for all the shipyards and orbital bases in the Colonies. Those were part of the reports he had been going through.

"Fleet Headquarters Picon has ordered all fleet bases and facilities to go to Condition One and be prepared for immediate Cylon attacks," Major Adams confirmed. "We are having to use some of the emergency frequencies to stay in contact ourselves with Picon Fleet Headquarters. We have also lost contact with Olympus Fleet Station and the other Colonies in our own system except Gemenon!"

"Nukes on the some of the Colonies! What about the Planetary Defense Grids, they are supposed to prevent that," Admiral Clements barked with growing concern. There were massive ground bases as well as huge orbiting satellites that were designed to repeal any size attack against the planets themselves.

"We don't know sir; information is very limited at the moment," Adams replied. "We are trying to get through to the other Colonies to verify. But as I said earlier, we are having a lot of trouble with our communication systems and are being forced to use the emergency channels. We have lost contact completely with some of the Outer Colonies as well."

"How long has all this been going on?" Admiral Clements demanded wondering why he had not been notified earlier.

"Only the last few minutes sir," Major Adams replied. "I was about to notify you when we received the Cylon attack warning from Picon Fleet Headquarters."

"I will be in the CIC shortly," Admiral Clements replied knowing his first responsibility was to secure the station. "Launch the ready viper squadrons immediately and have them form a defensive perimeter around the station. Make sure all the station's defensive and offensive weapons are on line. Contact Caprica Defense Headquarters and make sure their defensive systems are up and operational." Admiral Clements was fourth in the Command structure of the Colonial Fleet and an order from him would be obeyed. "Also try to contact President Adar and recommend that they move the government to the deep bunkers beneath the Capitol until we have control of this situation."

"There are two Battlestar Groups currently in orbit around Caprica," Major Adams spoke. "Do you have any orders for them?"

"Tell their Commanders they are to engage any hostiles that approach Caprica, use of nuclear ordinance at this time is not authorized until we have a better feel of the situation," Admiral Clements ordered. He wanted to confirm that the Cylons were using nukes first; he didn't want to start a nuclear exchange if it could be prevented.

"Order all fleet units currently docked on station to remain at dock but to go to Condition One and await further orders," Admiral Clements continued. "The same goes for all civilian vessels; none are allowed to leave during the current emergency. At least not until we get a better understanding of what is happening. They are to stay docked to the station until we can ascertain just how massive this attack is. Also order any recently departed civilian ships to return to the station immediately for their own safety. Bring our internal security up to full and have our marines prepared to repel boarders."

"Yes sir," Major Adams replied. "I will contact Admiral Stockwell and inform him that BSG 9 is to stay at station. Most of his crews are scattered around the station taking leave anyway. It will take them awhile to report back to their ships. I will pass the order that transport of BSG 9 crews should have first priority for internal station transport."

"What about our viper squadrons?" Admiral Clements asked his eyes wandering down to the family photo on his desk. The photo was of his wife, his son, and himself. It had been taken on vacation the year previously at a lodge in Crystal Falls World Park. It had been the last time all three of them had been together.

"We are in the process of launching four viper squadrons," Major  
Adams replied. "They will be on station shortly. I will also inform General Abramson that his marines may be needed on the station. His Command ship, the Marine Assault Vessel Vengeance is currently docked to the station."

Clements thought for a moment then reached a quick decision, "Have General Abramson deploy half his marines in the station to assist our own with repelling any Cylon borders. I want to be prepared if the Cylons try to take the station."

A few minutes latter Admiral Clements made his appearance in the CIC. The large room controlled all the movements of the numerous ships that were constantly coming and leaving the mammoth space station. It was ten times the size of the control room of the largest Battlestar with over one hundred on duty personnel. The Caprican shipyard was the largest orbital structure in the Colonies. Stretching out over twenty kilometers across and nearly two kilometers in depth, it looked like a small shining moon from the surface of Caprica. Half the shipyard was dedicated to military use and the other half to civilian. All ships leaving or arriving at Caprica had to go through the shipyard's control. It was a joint civilian and military operation.

Clements walked over to Major Adams who was standing in front of the large communication station where ten communication officers were busy monitoring transmissions from the civilian and military fleets as well as the Colonies. In front of the communication stations were several large view screens, which currently showed the surface of Caprica 20,000 kilometers below them. Caprica seemed to float beneath them, the surface blue and green with a scattering of white clouds.

"Caprica Defense Headquarters reports they are at Condition One and all Defense Satellites are on line sir," Major Adams reported turning to face the Admiral. "They are in the process of launching ten ready viper squadrons from ground bases for orbital patrol. Another fifty squadrons are on standby. They are also launching one hundred and fifty interceptor armed raptors for low orbit missile suppression if anything gets past the defensive satellites. They well be on station in ten minutes. There is no sign of the Cylons on Dradis or on the sensors. Caprica may be so powerfully defended that they are staying away from us. Gemenon Defense Headquarters has confirmed their Condition One status also."

"Let's hope so," Admiral Clements replied scanning the CIC seeing that everyone was going about their duties, no one seemed panicked about the current situation.

"I have Fleet Admiral Corman, Fleet Headquarters Picon on priority channel Alpha One for you Admiral," Captain Reed reported suddenly from her communication console. "The Alpha Channel just came back on line; it's been down for several minutes."

Captain Reed was an attractive blond that had only recently transferred to the station to take over communications. She was one of the top graduates in her class from the Fleet Academy on Picon. Her family had a long military history and Clements had felt fortunate to get her assigned to the station as her first major posting.

"Put him on the speaker," Admiral Clements ordered stepping closer to the communication console where Captain Reed was. This was his crew and they had a right to know what was happening. Nearly all of them had family either on the Colonies or in the fleet itself. Clement's own wife was on the surface of Caprica in a suburb of Caprica city. His son was the Cag aboard Commander Cain's training Battlestar Pegasus. The Pegasus had been retired several years before but had been temporarily reactivated to be used for fleet training due to all the cutbacks.

"Johnathan this is Admiral Corman. I assume you are aware of the current tactical situation. We are showing a massive Cylon attack across the board. The Cylons jumped in with their FTL drives and have launched a devastating attack against the fleet and the Colonies. They had our latest fleet dispositions and have taken many of our fleet units by surprise. They have hit the Outer Colonies heavily and we are receiving confirmed reports of massive nuclear explosions upon the surfaces of the planets. They could show up above Caprica at any moment! Olympus Fleet Station and the 12th and 15th Battlestar Groups in the Caprica system have already been confirmed destroyed."

"We are monitoring the situation and have already launched our alert vipers. The station is currently at Condition One. We currently have no Cylon craft in detection range," Clements replied with growing concern. Two Battlestar Groups and Olympus Fleet Station in the Caprica system already destroyed! Not only that, but the 15th Battlestar Group was Admiral Reynold's Command! He was one of the most capable young Admirals in the fleet; how the frak had they managed to take him out! "What about the Planetary Defense Centers and Defense Satellites? Aren't they holding in the Outer Colonies? That is what they were designed for. To protect the planets until the fleet can respond!"

"We are receiving reports of massive computer system failures in the Planetary Mainframes, even the Defense Satellites are failing to respond," Corman replied grimly. "Our own systems here have been affected as well and we are nearly blind. We are still trying to get our systems back on line so we can ascertain the full extent of the attack. It's a combination of a Cylon virus and possible sabotage. Much of our information on the Colonies is coming from civilian ships fleeing the attacks.

"Sabotage," Admiral Clements said surprised. "What type of sabotage?"

"We have reports of explosions aboard some of our ships and bases," Admiral Corman replied grimly. "We have even had reports of damage at ground based defense installations. How they have managed to achieve this is unknown at the moment."

"What about the fleet?" Admiral Clements asked fearing the worst, looking up at the screen, which showed Caprica sitting peacefully beneath them. "Can't they protect the Colonies, prevent the nukes from striking the surface?"

"I am afraid not Johnathan," Corman replied bleakly "We are receiving reports of massive fleet losses. Many of our Battlestars and vipers report losing all power upon contact with the Cylons. We have already lost over twenty Battlestars and nearly forty Gunstars and we are not sure on the Escortstar losses."

"What about Cylon losses?" Admiral Clements asked feeling stunned at the number of Colonial ships already lost.

"Very light so far, many of our ships have been destroyed without even being able to engage the Cylons," Admiral Corman replied. "Our experts here believe that the Cylons have inserted some type of computer virus through a backdoor into our ship's programming that's shutting down our systems. Only our oldest ships and vipers are reporting any significant luck in their engagements with the Cylons. We are ordering all Commands to disconnect as much of their networked computer systems as possible and go to manual control."

"That will really hamper the ship's weapons systems," Admiral Clements replied. All the weapons were targeted and fired by networked computers on the newer ships.

"The Outer Colonies are continuing to report numerous large nuclear detonations on the planets," Admiral Corman continued. "The Cylons are targeting both civilian and military targets with their nukes. We are continuing to get confirmed reports of massive failures in our Planetary Defense Grids even after switching to their backup systems. We believe that somehow the Cylons have managed to infiltrate saboteurs into our ranks. The grids shut down simultaneously with the arrival of Cylon Basestars in orbit."

"Major Adams, pass that information on to Caprica Defense Headquarters, instruct them to check their systems for signs of tampering," Clements ordered quickly with growing apprehension. "Also have our own people to begin checking our systems. I want them prepared to disconnect our computer network at the first sign of trouble. Then contact the orbiting fleet units and inform them that use of nuclear ordinance has been authorized."

Major Adams walked over to a communication's console and began talking to the officer in front of it.

"What are your orders sir?" Clements asked, already suspecting and fearing what the Admiral was going to say. From what Admiral Corman was reporting the situation was far worse then anything Clements could imagine. The fleet losses were staggering. This had the makings of a total disaster. From what Corman had said, if the fleet couldn't rally and turn back the attack soon, they could be looking at the total destruction of the Colonies and all of their fifty billion people! If the Planetary Defense Grids were compromised and the Cylons were using nukes on the planets themselves, then this could be a very short battle!

"I am ordering you to implement Case Omega One for the survival of the Colonies," Admiral Corman spoke with a tinge of grief in his voice. "You may not have a lot of time Johnathan; a few of our boards that are back on line are already showing a large Cylon task force heading our way. We will be under attack here shortly. I have already ordered most of my people to the deep shelters."

"What about Admiral Nagala?" Admiral Clements asked. He knew that his old friend had to be in the thick of things.

"I have ordered Admiral Nagala to gather the 23rd, 27th, and 10th Battlestar Groups in sector sixteen near Virgon plus whatever other ships we can get to him. He has been avoiding contact with the Cylons trying to buy time until we figure this virus problem out. Hopefully by the time he engages the Cylons we will have the virus problem solved."

"What about other fleet units?" Admiral Clements asked worried. If Olympus Fleet Station had been destroyed, he wondered just how much of a chance the fleet really had. He was very familiar with the defenses Olympus Fleet Station had possessed. They were just slightly less formidable then what Caprica Station was armed with.

"Admiral Davidson is preparing to try to hold Scorpia but I am afraid his fleet is not large enough to stop the Cylons, we are debating on having his fleet fall back to reinforce Nagala," Admiral Corman replied. "Our fleet losses are growing so rapidly that any chance of a Colonial victory is now very small. We estimate we are facing over one hundred Cylon Basestars and some type of Support Ship similar to one of the old Hades Class Cylon Basestars of the first war, but slightly larger."

"I have BSG 9 here at the station and also BSG 19 and 22 in orbit over Caprica," Admiral Clements spoke. "Should I send any of those units to reinforce Admiral Nagala or Admiral Davidson?"

"No, I have already sent orders to Admiral Stockwell," Admiral Corman replied. "I have instructed him to place his fleet under your command, the same for General Abramson and his marines. As for the rest of the fleet, I fear that all we can do is buy you some time while you implement Case Omega. We are going to try to hold Virgon with its defenses, but I don't know if even that's possible. We are already in the process of assembling an evacuation fleet from Scorpia, Picon, and Virgon to join you at the emergency rendezvous point. Johnathan one other thing, Commander Cain and the Pegasus are in route to join Admiral Davidson. I just wanted you to know."

"Yes sir," Admiral Clements replied almost in a daze as he realized the full impact of the Admiral's words. His son Martin was in route to Scorpia, he wondered if he would ever see him again. Case Omega assumed the total destruction of the Colonies and the Colonial Fleet. "You don't think Admiral Nagala can launch a successful counter attack?" Admiral Clements knew Admiral Nagala well. He was the fleet's most brilliant strategist. If anyone could stop the Cylons, it would be him!

"I'm afraid not. Admiral Nagala is a brilliant tactician but the odds against him will be nearly four to one by the time he can affectively engage the Cylons. I don't think even he can survive those odds," Admiral Corman replied grimly.

"Then we are facing defeat," Admiral Clements said realizing the gravity of the situation and seeing the shocked looks on the faces of the men and women in the CIC.

"What we need is a miracle and even that may be to late now," Admiral Corman spoke sighing heavily. "Our fleet losses are just too high and mounting rapidly. If we can lure the Cylons down close to Virgon and hammer at them with the Planetary Defenses we might have a chance, but that is a big maybe, especially with the way the Planetary Defense Systems have been failing."

"What is the situation with Virgon's Defense Grid?" Admiral Clements asked.

"Virgon is sending crews up to the Defense Satellites to try to operate them manually," Admiral Corman replied. "We can't be sure Virgon's won't suffer the same fate. All of our computer specialists are going over Virgon's defensive system's programming and components. Perhaps with manned crews we might be able to keep them on line, at least for a while. I would recommend you have Caprica Defense Command do the same thing with their satellites."

"So it's Case Omega," Admiral Clements spoke almost quietly. This was a fail safe plan he had helped design, but had prayed would never have to be implemented. "You don't believe we can hold Caprica with the Battlestar Groups we have and the station?"

"I'm afraid not Johnathan," Corman replied. "If you can keep the defense grid on line and we are able to solve this Cylon virus problem in time you might have a chance. But as things stand now, I don't think you can. I just don't think we are going to have the time to do what needs to be done. We have to save as many as possible and Case Omega may be our only hope."

"I understand Admiral," Clements replied wishing things were different. He had never expected to actually have to implement Case Omega.

"We are already sending out coded messages on Fleet Com Line Alpha to all ships on deep space patrol and survey missions to rendezvous with you in one week at the emergency rally point for Case Omega," Corman replied. "They have the emergency coordinates for rally point two. Good luck Johnathan, if Admiral Nagala does not survive you will be the surviving senior officer of the fleet. He has instructions to fall back to the refugee fleet when they are ready to jump. Now get going, you don't have a lot of time!"

"Yes sir," Admiral Clements replied. "Can you and the Command Staff escape from Picon?"

"No Johnathan, a massive Cylon fleet has just jumped into orbit and has launched nukes toward our position," Admiral Corman spoke talking more rapidly. "We have lost contact with the defending fleet units in orbit. We're getting reports of total failure of our Defense Satellites. They are just shutting down! We have lost communication with the orbiting shipyard; ground observers are reporting a massive explosion in orbit at its location."

Admiral Clements could hear other frantic voices in the background behind Corman.

"Our defensive raptors are also losing power and falling from the sky, it must be that fraking virus," Admiral Corman reported his voice sounding drained. "We have a number of nukes in bound toward us and Queenstown!"

Clements could hear several more loud voices in the background of Admiral Corman's voice, orders being shouted, a panicked female voice saying the base's defensive systems had gone off line, then a loud scream as the com went silent and was replaced by static.

"The Fleet Headquarters on Picon has gone silent," Captain Reed reported in a subdued voice as she continued to monitor the sporadic communication from the fleet. "Civilian ships in the area report massive nuclear detonations where Fleet Headquarters is located. They report that the detonations are continuing with more missiles in bound. Queenstown has been hit and is burning. We are picking up panicked civilian traffic all over the civilian channels. Many are under attack by Cylon raiders! They are requesting help from the fleet!"

Turning to Captain Reed, "Contact Caprica Defense Command and inform them to send crews up to all orbiting Defense Satellites. The satellites are to be operated manually until this virus situation is solved."

"Frak," Major Adams said shaking is head staring at the now silent communication's console. 'How did all this happen?"

"We have a confirmed report that the fleet shipyard above Picon has been destroyed as well as all Colonial Fleet units in orbit," Captain Reed continued trying to keep the fright out of her voice. "They report that many of the cities on Picon can be seen burning. Civilian vessels are jumping away trying to escape the Cylons."

"We are receiving some reports from other scattered fleet units," communication's officer Lieutenant Stevens interrupted; he had been monitoring fleet communications. "Nuclear detonations are still being reported on all Outer Colonies except Scorpia and Virgon. Admiral Nagala is trying to regroup what is left of the fleet but he reports that he expects to be badly out numbered from earlier losses. He has ordered all surviving fleet units to rally to him for a counter attack."

"How many ships does he have?" Admiral Clements asked hoping Nagala could gather a sufficient force so he could hold Virgon.

"He currently has a force of sixteen Battlestars, twenty Gunstars, plus Escortstars in his combined fleet with more scattered units on the way," Lieutenant Stevens reported. "Admiral Davidson also has a sizable fleet at Scorpia but reports inbound Cylon ships. Both Admirals are disconnecting parts of their computer networks to stop the spread of the Cylon virus and are placing many of their weapon systems on manual control."

Admiral Clements was silent as he absorbed the full scope of the growing disaster. Their fleet might very well soon be gone, and the Colonies were being destroyed. For several long moments Admiral Clements stood frozen in thought as the total enormity of what was transpiring swept over him. Nearly fifty billion people! Humanity in the Twelve Colonies was doomed if the Cylons could not be stopped!

Admiral Clements was the senior fleet officer in charge of all shipyards and orbital facilities throughout the Colonies. He had served ten years as Fleet Admiral of BSG 3 before being promoted to his current position. For several more agonizing moments, he stood in thought trying to find some hope in their current position. Unfortunately, he could find none.

The shipyard was heavily armed, but he feared that not even their armaments could withstand a massive attack, not an attack of this size. They had to escape; the only chance of escaping would be in FTL capable ships or in some of the remote stations that had been equipped with FTL jump capacity.

He knew full well what Case Omega required him to do. To remain was to doom the entire human race to oblivion. He wondered if they would be given time to send shuttles down to pick up family members of the crew on the surface. Frak, he hoped his wife was home. Perhaps she and others could be rescued if they moved quickly enough!

Clements stepped over to his command station and using his palm placed it upon the security console that rested next to it. Instantly a small opening appeared containing a set of information disks. Taking these, he walked back over to the communications section. Passing the data disks out to Captain Reed and Lieutenant Stevens, he addressed them.

"The data disks in front of you contain specific instructions for the facilities listed. Each one of you will contact those facilities listed on your disk and transmit the information on the disk to the Commanding Officers."

"Captain Reed open a secure line to the Nexus ship yard and order it to jump to emergency rally point epsilon two," Clements ordered knowing they would need the mobile shipyard.

The Nexus shipyard was a small facility located outside the Colonies capable of repairing damaged capital ships. Its entire reason for existing was to be able to support the fleet in case of massive damage to capital ships that could not be taken safely back to a major shipyard in the Colonies.

"Inform Nexus what has transpired here and that any ships in its vicinity are to dock and jump with it," Admiral Clements ordered trying to keep his voice calm. "That includes any military vessels as well as civilian." The shipyard had been equipped with FTL drives in order to jump to where it was most needed.

Captain Reed turned to comply inserting the information disk into her console. She was relieved to see that the long range subspace relay satellites tied into Caprica Station still seemed to be operating so communication lines to the remote outposts were still open on the emergency channels.

"Lieutenant Stevens contact the fleet supply depots Indram, Creighton, Aldon, and Hydra and instruct them to make emergency jumps to the emergency rally point," Admiral Clements ordered. "Transmit the data disks information as soon as you make contact with each. Their orders are the same as the shipyard. All military and civilian vessels are to jump with them."

The four supply depots were small when compared to the massive Fleet Anchorage Stations that normally serviced the fleet's Battlestars. These were aimed more at supplying Gunstars and smaller craft. Twelve such stations existed far out from the Colonies but only four possessed FTL capability.

"Also order the mining colony Sidon to jump to the emergency coordinates, you will find her current location under the file 01-Case Omega-001. Contact General Collins on the Sidon and inform him that Case Omega has been implemented. Make sure you talk to General Collins personally," Admiral Clements emphasized.

The Sidon, Captain Reed wondered. Why did the Admiral want them to contact a mining colony? The others on the list she could understand, they were all military facilities. The Sidon however was not! They were just a bunch of pain in the butt miners. She didn't understand but she would carry out her orders.

Walking back to his command station he turned to Major Adams. "Major Adams how many people are currently on the station?"

Adams stepped over to a large workstation and talked briefly with the two officers seated there and the four crewmen who assisted them. They were responsible for the station's life support systems and continuously monitored the number of people on board the station.

"Approximately one hundred sixty two thousand. That includes all civilians, fleet personnel, and station personnel," Major Adams reported looking back at the Admiral."

"Eight Cylon Baseships have jumped into Caprica orbit!" Captain Mason, the Dradis officer reported breaking in as his screen now displayed eight red threat icons. On the main view screen, one of the double Y shaped Cylon ships appeared. The nearest two were just out of range of the station's rail guns.

"Gemenon reports Cylon Basestars have jumped into orbit over them also," another of the communication officers reported as frantic reports from Gemenon and Caprica began to come in.

The CIC grew quiet as everyone stared in shock at the large Cylon ship.


	4. Chapter 4

"The Battlestar Groups are moving to intercept," Major Adams reported listening to the fleet traffic over the mini com in his right ear. "Caprica Defense Command is launching all surface viper and raptor squadrons."

Admiral Clements looked up at the massive Dradis screen above the main operation's table. It showed sixteen green icons representing the two Battlestar Groups and their escorts. The four Battlestars in the two groups were already launching vipers.

Admiral Clements activated his mini com, which instantly put him in contact with the two Battlestar Groups. "This is Admiral Clements to all Battlestar Commanders. Your number one priority is to take out the Cylon Basestars. The surface squadrons of vipers and raptors will take out any nukes that manage to penetrate the defense grid."

In the space around Caprica, Cylon raiders launched and flew toward the Colonial Battlestars and escort ships. As they approached, they sent a coded signal toward the oncoming vipers and raptors. Almost instantly, the Colonial vipers and raptors lost power beginning to drift in space, helpless to stop the Cylon raiders from reaching the larger ships.

Aboard the Battlestars, the shocked crews could only watch as the same signal reached them and the mighty ships lost power and the lights went out.

Emergency power came back on but by then it was too late. Cylon heavy raiders, which had been following the regular raiders, launched their nuclear payloads at the helpless Colonial ships. Massive nuclear explosions ripped into the defenseless Battlestars tearing jagged burning holes through their thick armor gutting the huge warships. The Gunstars and Escortstars vanished as multiple nuclear blasts blew them apart and vaporized the smaller ships in burning nuclear fireballs.

"Did you see that?" Major Adams spoke feeling numb at how easily the Cylons had taken out the Colonial fleet units. The entire battle had lasted less then two minutes.

On the way back to their Basestars, the heavy raiders launched a few nukes at the drifting vipers and raptors destroying them almost as an after thought.

Admiral Clements could only nod, his eyes were glued to the Dradis, on the Dradis screen over a thousand vipers and raptors launched from the surface where falling back toward Caprica. They too had lost power. Feeling helpless Clements watched the powerless ships begin to burn up in the atmosphere.

"We are receiving reports of nuclear detonations on the far side of the planet," Captain Reed reported from her com station looking frightened. She had just finished talking to General Collins aboard the Sidon. She had been surprised to find a marine General on board the mining colony.

"Gemenon is reporting nuclear explosions across the planet," Lieutenant Stevens reported numbly as the panicked reports came in. "The temple cities are burning!"

"The two Cylon ships near us are also launching missiles towards Caprica!" Captain Mason exclaimed worriedly as numerous missile trails began showing up on the Dradis.

"We are picking up a broadcast from President Adar offering a full and unconditional surrender from the Presidential emergency facility," Captain Reed reported with surprise in her voice.

"That coward," Adams muttered shaking his head in disgust. "The Cylons won't even respond. They are here to wipe us out, doesn't he understand that?"

"Probably not, after all it's his policies that have weakened the fleet and our defenses to the point the Cylons could launch this attack. Both his administration and the previous have been drastically reducing military spending," Admiral Clements replied angrily looking at the large view screens, which still showed a peaceful and safe Caprica below them on their side of the planet. He was expecting the Defense Satellites to start knocking down those inbound missiles but nothing was happening. The human crews hadn't reached them in time!

"Order our vipers to attack those Baseships! Find out why the Defense Satellites aren't taking out those ships or missiles?" Clements demanded his eyes widening with concern. "Captain Reed, contact the Planetary Defense Headquarters and see why the PDSs are not firing!"

Sixteen large Planetary Defense Satellites were currently orbiting Caprica, plus hundreds of smaller support satellites. They were capable of handling any size Cylon attack on the planet. They were armed with interceptor missiles that could take down any inbound missile. Missiles should not be able to reach the surface of Caprica. This was the Capitol of the Colonies and had the strongest defense network anywhere!

"We have lost contact with Caprica Planetary Defense Headquarters; they were reporting massive computer failures. They reported that the Planetary Mainframe crashed as soon as the Cylon Basestars appeared in orbit," Captain Reed responded alarmed. "The officer in charge said they were trying to bring it back up but they were having trouble finding what the problem was. They suspected sabotage or some type of back door virus that had been implanted, and then all communication stopped!"

"That damn Cylon virus we have heard about," Major Adams said staring worriedly at the Dradis screen, which was tracking numerous Cylon missiles inbound toward a defenseless Caprica.

"Order all civilian and fleet personnel to report to their ships immediately. We are going to have to evacuate the station," Admiral Clements ordered his gaze held rigidly on the screens, which showed Caprica. Frak his wife was down there, so were the families of many of the crew! "Order our vipers to try to knock down those missiles. Stand by to launch the rest of our squadrons, contact Admiral Stockwell and have him to stand by to launch his squadrons as well. We have to stop those missiles!"

"Admiral, I must remind you that the vipers and raptors from the Battlestars and Caprica were deactivated by these Cylons," Major Adams responded worriedly looking at the Admiral. He knew that the Admiral's wife was down on Caprica. "Ours may be also, we could lose them all!"

"I know," Admiral Clements replied, still looking at the view screen, which showed Cylon missiles nearing the surface of Caprica, including Caprica City. "But we have to try!"

"Are you sure you want to evacuate the station?" Major Adams asked as he passed on the orders to the vipers and prepared to order more squadrons to be launched. "With our defenses, we can hold the Cylons off sir. This is the most powerfully armed station in the Twelve Colonies!"

"Against a hundred Cylon Basestars plus Support Ships, I don't thing so! We have to save as many people as possible. Make sure everyone is evacuated to FTL capable ships. What fleet ships do we currently have on station?" Clements demanded, his eyes moving toward the large Dradis screen, which showed two squadrons of their vipers rapidly closing with the Cylon Basestars and the other two streaking off into Caprica's atmosphere after the descending Cylon missiles.

Major Adams pulled up information on his computer console feeling extremely worried about the situation. Admiral Clements was a rock solid commander, if he felt that evacuation was necessary then they were in a world of hurt.

"The ninth Battlestar Group under command of Admiral Stockwell has one Mercury Class Battlestar, the Picon and one Jupiter Class, the Cimitar. There are four Gunstars and four Escortstars serving as escorts. They also currently have Two Columbia Two training Battlestars the Altair and Spica attached. Those two have nearly ten thousand fifth year cadets on board receiving fleet training. There are two other Gunstars and four more Escortstars in station for resupply. There are two Marine Assault Ships with seventy five hundred marines under command of General Abramson plus two empty Marine Assault Ships. We have twenty fleet supply vessels and fourteen fleet personnel carriers. Also your own Battlestar the Caprica."

"Order Abramson to have his marines help our people with the evacuation. I want it orderly and fast," Admiral Clements stated his eyes turning hauntingly back to the view screens that showed Caprica.

"Admiral I have Admiral Stockwell on com for you," Lieutenant Stevens spoke turning toward the Admiral.

"Put him on the speaker," Clements said.

"Admiral Clements I have just received orders from Admiral Corman placing me under your command. What are your orders? We have detected two Cylon Basestars nearby and Dradis confirms they are launching raiders. We are ready to launch vipers to assist the station's squadrons. They are in the launch tubes ready to go. I also request permission to launch my fleet from the station as soon as my crews are back on board. We can take out those Basestars! We can also add our firepower to the stations!"

"Sir," the Dradis officer interrupted. "The Cylon Basestars have launched raiders. A lot of raiders, nearly two hundred and more launches are continuing!"

Our four squadrons are reporting power problems," Captain Lewis said worriedly from his console where he was monitoring the four viper squadrons. They are loosing control of their vipers! Their systems are just shutting down!"

"Halt the launch of the additional squadrons," Major Adams commanded addressing one of the tactical officers who was responsible for the vipers.

Admiral Clements looked up at the massive Dradis screen that showed the vipers and raiders closing. The vipers seemed to be drifting and even colliding with each other. "Order them to withdraw!" Clements barked realizing that he could lose all four squadrons. "We will use the station's point defense weapons to take those raiders out. Even as he spoke, the vipers on the screen begin to blink out one by one until in just a few moments none remained. Those that were chasing the missiles deep into Caprica's atmosphere could now be seen to be falling toward the surface out of control.

"Do not launch Admiral Stockwell," Admiral Clements ordered realizing that his own station vipers were as powerless as the fleets had been a few minutes earlier. "Our own vipers seem to have just lost power, all power. They have been wiped out. Four squadrons! Your own would probably be affected as well. We will use the station's defenses to destroy the Cylon raiders."

"I am placing you in charge of all military ships on the station," Clements continued feeling numb knowing there was nothing he could do to save his wife or the families of the station's crew. "Contact them and get them ready to leave. Load all the supplies you can on board your ships. I think we can buy at least a few more hours worth of time. You will be escorting a large civilian fleet. We are going to evacuate the station of all personnel and then FTL out of the system. Also have your technicians search your systems for this Cylon virus that seems to be affecting all of our ships, it may very well be in your systems also. It may be necessary for you to disconnect part of your computer network to protect your ships from this fraking virus."

"The situation is that bad?" Stockwell asked with deep concern in his voice. He desperately wanted to undock from the station and engage the Cylon ships. That was what his Battlestars had been designed for, not to escort civilian ships!

"Yes Admiral, from what Admiral Corman reported and our own observations we can't hope to hold out against what the Cylons can throw at us," Clements replied taking a deep breath. "Especially if Caprica's defensive net is down. Without the PDSs, we can't protect the planet. We must get away before they launch a major attack against us. We will take all the ships we can. We will need your ships to protect that fleet. So begin making your preparations, I will contact you again shortly. If you detect anything out of the ordinary in your systems let us know immediately."

Captain Reed keyed her com to the Admiral's station. "All units on your list have been contacted sir. They report no sign of Cylon activity as of yet."

"Excellent," Admiral Clements replied relieved. Now if he could only evacuate the station and see about rescuing some of the people on the surface of Caprica. A gasp of dismay drew his attention back to the main view screens. He felt an icy hand grip and close about his heart at the sight that he beheld.

On the main view screen, massive nuclear explosions could be seen rolling across the pristine surface of Caprica. Everyone watched the screen in shock and horror, knowing that their families were trapped beneath that deadly carnage.

"All communication with Caprica City has been lost," Captain Reed reported slowly trying to get her breath. "We have reports of at least two massive nuclear detonations at Caprica Cities location."

"All vipers confirmed destroyed, the Dradis operator reported. Cylon raiders continuing to close!"

Admiral Clements felt that cold fist grip his heart even tighter. He knew that in all probability his wife and friends in Caprica City had just died. For a moment, he stood stunned as the shock and finality of what had just transpired washed over him.

"Crap," Major Adams said angrily jerking his gaze from the view screen where multiple mushroom clouds could be seen rising from the surface. Turning he walked over to a group of control consoles manned by a group of Colonial Marine Captains. These were the station's tactical officers, these men and women controlled the station's massive weapons systems.

The station was equipped with heavy point defense systems that compared to the firepower of a ten Battlestars. The heavy rail guns the station was equipped with were capable of blowing even these invading Basestars out of space if they got close enough. The station would not be an easy nut for the Cylons to crack.

"Place system on automatic fire," Major Adams ordered taking a commanding position behind the officers. "Weapon fire is authorized."

"Sir," the computer officer interrupted suddenly with a trace of fear in his voice. "Our computer systems are failing!"

It was at that moment that the lights in the CIC faded slowly and then went out. The CIC became deathly quiet as all the systems shut down.

The virus, Admiral Clements thought dismayed as he stood in darkness, and then the emergency lighting came on as the emergency back ups kicked in. It seemed as if their entire world was in the process of dying.

For a moment, Admiral Clements wondered if it was worth even trying to survive. His family was gone; the Colonies were destroyed, or nearly destroyed, what was the point of continuing to go on living when so many others had died. Then his training kicked in, he had a mission to complete. One that he had helped Admiral Corman, and Nagala set up years ago.

Without power to the weapon systems, they would be helpless to prevent the Cylons from destroying the station. They would not be able to implement Case Omega. At least I got word out to the Sidon. Clements thought privately to himself. General Collins had his instructions just in case of such an occurrence. He knew what had to be done and he had all the coordinates. At least a few would survive.

"Station status!" he barked. What were the Cylon raiders doing? At any moment, he expected to feel nukes hitting the station.

"All sections report emergency power only. All the major computer systems on the station are down," Major Adams reported listening to the frantic reports coming in. "We have no power to weapons, minimal power to life support. The Battlestars Picon and Cimitar report computer failure also. They are currently trying to reboot their systems. They are still in the process of trying to disconnect some of their networks to allow manual operation of their weapons systems."

"Sir," the Dradis operator reported as the Dradis came back on line under emergency power. The Cylon Basestars are just sitting there. The raiders have encircled the station but are not firing or moving."

"What the frak is going on?" Major Adams said with a puzzled look. "They have us where they want us, why haven't they moved in for the kill?"

Clements wondered too. From all the reports they had received so far the Cylons hadn't hesitated to destroy everything in their path. Why would they be hesitating about destroying the station? What was it about the station that could be causing them to hesitate? They were defenseless, why were they waiting? Were they trying to save the station for their own use? Then with a sudden dawning realization, he thought he might know the answer. He had a suspicion he knew exactly why they had not destroyed the station.

"The old Cylon Mainframe Computer is stored in the vaults down below. They must want to recover it," Clements stated his eyes growing wide at the thought. The old Cylon Mainframe had been moved from the surface of Caprica to the station at the end of the Cylon war forty years ago.

"The old Cylon Mainframe," Major Adams responded confused. "I had forgotten it was down there. Why would they want it?"

"I don't know," Admiral Clements replied frowning. "The Cylons down loaded the system at the end of the war, which was part of the armistice agreement. However, that's the only explanation I can come up with that would explain why they haven't destroyed us. Get a squad of marines down to that vault. Make sure no one can gain entry. If they board us I may want that mainframe destroyed immediately."

"Yes sir," Major Adams replied. He keyed his com unit to the station's security station and passed the order on to the officer on duty.

"We need to get power restored," Admiral Clements continued, looking around the CIC. "The computer system we are running on now was only installed last year. The old system is still intact to be used in case of an emergency. Can we switch over to it?"

Major Adams keyed his console and got the Systems officer back on the line. After a few moments, he turned back to Admiral Clements.

"We could," Adams replied with a frown. "But it's going to take awhile."

"The System's officer believes if we reboot the system from the old mainframe the Cylon virus might be eliminated since it does not have any of the new upgrades."

"The Cylons must have infiltrated the virus into our system from a recent system download. The arrival of their ships must have triggered its activation. In addition, the old system has a lot of firewalls still in place from the old Cylon war. It might just give us the time we need to evacuate the station," Clements stated.

"Order General Abramson to get all of his marines into the station and to be ready to repel boarders," Admiral Clements ordered knowing that if Cylon Centurions boarded the station a lot of lives would be lost. "If the Cylons want to recover that mainframe then at some point they will try to board us, we must be ready for that!"

**CAPRICA PRIME MARINE BASE **

**JUST PRIOR TO CYLON ATTACK ON CAPRICA**

**125 KILOMETERS SOUTHEAST OF CAPRICA CITY**

General Thomas Ashton had been summoned to base headquarters as soon as word of the Cylon attack came over the com system. When he arrived at the Command Center word of nuclear attacks on the Outer Colonies and failure of the Defense Mainframes was already spreading like wild fire.

"What has Planetary Defense Command reported?" General Ashton asked, as his trained eyes looked across the Command Center coming to rest on the large view screens on the near wall.

"We have been placed on Condition One," Colonel Edwards replied from where he was sitting at his command console. "Cylon attack imminent, all bases on war alert!"

"Colonel Edwards," General Ashton snapped as he studied the information screens and listened to the scattered panicky reports that were coming in over his mini com, which he had activated as soon as he stepped into Command. The news was not good. The Colonies and fleet were taking a pounding! "Get four raptors up armed with interceptor missiles and another four armed and on standby. I want them in tight orbit above the base. I want the raptors operating on manual with all their computer networks disconnected."

"Raptors," Colonel Edwards said dubiously looking at the General. "Our Planetary Defensive Grid is still up as well as our own ground based interceptor batteries. Why turn off the computer networks, it will reduce the efficiency of the ships?"

"I realize that," General Ashton replied patiently, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But the Cylons are hitting the Outer Colonies successfully. We have reports of massive computer failures and nuclear detonations. If they have managed somehow to hack into our networks, this will help protect those raptors and this base. I will not take the chance that our systems have been compromised. Get those raptors up ASAP!"

A few minutes later, the raptors were in place orbiting the base at twenty thousand meters. All over the base marines were racing to their stations. The ground based missile interceptor batteries were manned and on standby. The missile batteries depended on computer tracking to target and fire their missiles. They could not be disconnected from the network.

General Ashton continued to listen to the communications traffic that was coming in, and then talked briefly to Caprica Defense Command. He was informed that some attacks had already occurred in the Caprica system. However, there were two full Battlestar Groups in orbit as well as the massive defenses of Caprica Station. The Defense Grid was activated and all ground based viper squadrons were on standby. A few had already been launched to take up defensive patrols in low orbit of the planet. In short, Caprica Defense Command felt that Caprica was secure from the Cylons.

"Major Rice I want to prepare to evacuate this base. I want all the Nomad assault shuttles fully armed, supplied, and marines put aboard. I want all the Cascade marine support shuttles fully loaded with marines and supplies," General Ashton ordered as he studied the screens and listened to the reports that were coming in. He didn't like the way things were shaping up. The Cylon attack seemed to be unstoppable. Nowhere was there a report of successful resistance. This war was going to be over in a matter of hours if things didn't change. He knew that he would never convince Caprica Defense Command otherwise. It was their fraking computer systems! Caprica Defense Command was too dependent on them, and General Ashton knew that would be their downfall.

"Colonel Edwards get all of our Archangel Bombers armed and ready to go; we will be taking them with us, same thing for all raptors. All computer networks disconnected and all ships to be operated on manual."

Colonel Edwards looked surprised at the General, not believing that they were going to evacuate the base. There hadn't even been an attack on Caprica yet by the Cylons! But from the look on the General's face, there was no doubt that he was serious. "Do you really think that is necessary sir, after all we are the main standby Colonial support for Caprica City and the forces stationed there, what if the Cylons began troop landings?"

"More likely they will be hitting us with nukes," General Ashton retorted. "If the Cylons land troops, we will handle that situation when it occurs. My main concern right now is to preserve the people under my command and this base will be a primary target! We survive by not being here!"

After a moment, Colonel Edwards began giving the necessary orders to initiate the massive evacuation.

Far up in the sky above the marine base, Captain Aaron Sims banked his raptor in a steady turn as he circled the base. The raptor was armed with six interceptor missiles. His copilot, Lieutenant Susan James was watching their Dradis and scanning screens for any inbound targets. Since the computer systems were down, she had to operate the scans on manual.

"Do you really think it's as bad as they say," she asked as she adjusted her scanners. "Have the Cylons really launched a full scale attack against all the Colonies? Maybe this is just a drill?"

"I don't think so," Sims replied as he adjusted his altitude slightly. "Even the civilian channels are starting to show a lot of panic. There is no way all this could be faked."

"Wait a minute, I have a target!" Susan said suddenly as a fast moving red icon appeared on the outside edge of her Dradis screen. Quickly adjusting the scanning system she looked frightened as the data streamed across her screen. "That's an inbound nuke targeted on the base," she said with rising fright in her normally calm voice. "There are other nukes inbound as well, but only one is aimed at us! Frak, two are aimed at Caprica City!"

Susan looked out the cockpit windows expecting to see interceptor missiles streaking by launched from the base, but nothing was happening! She knew the base's larger interceptors had the range to take out the missiles targeted on Caprica City. She studied her screens more intently feeling confused. "Sir the base interceptors are not targeting the inbound nukes. I am not picking up any targeting scans from the base's defensive system, something's wrong!"

"Frak," Captain Sims said keying his mini com, which placed him in instant contact with the other orbiting raptors. "This is Raptor Defense Leader. We have an inbound nuke targeted on the base."

Sims kicked the raptors engines darting up and away from the base. His targeting system flashed green as he manually locked on the inbound missile, without hesitation he punched the missile intercept button and two interceptor missiles blasted away from the raptor and quickly vanished into the cloudless sky above them, only their white contrails were visible.

"Raptor two be prepared to engage the target if my missiles miss. All raptors, be prepared for nuclear blast!" Captain Sims ordered his eyes focused on the point above them where he knew the missiles should be.

Lieutenant James pressed a button and the cockpit windows darkened considerably as blast shielding slid into place. Her fingers were trembling as she continued to scan and track the inbound nukes on the Dradis. On the Dradis screen, the two climbing missiles and the inbound nuke targeted on the base met, and then the screen became covered in static as the nuke detonated.

It was what Sims had been afraid of. The Cylon missiles were set to detonate on contact if intercepted. That was going to play frak with communications. The raptor bucked and swayed as the dissipating force of the blast struck them. Captain Sims fought his controls as the raptor rolled severely from the blast but after a few moments, he regained complete control of the raptor.

"All raptors return to patrol levels and keep scanning for inbound nukes," he ordered. "The interceptor missile batteries at the base have ceased to function. We are their only defense until they solve the problem." Sims was afraid that this was only the first of what could be a lot of nukes aimed at the marine base.

On the base below, everyone looked up at the brilliant flash that lit up the day light sky. Marines looked uneasily at one another realizing that it was a nuke. Fortunately, it was high enough up as not to cause any damage to the base. At the interceptor missile batteries, frantic technicians poured over the complicated control systems trying to find out why the defense systems had shut down.

"One of our raptors just shot down an inbound nuke. We have reports coming in of eight Cylon Basestars in orbit. Two Battlestar Groups are moving in to engage! Caprica City Defense reports that the Defense Mainframe has failed as well as local Area Defense Mainframes," Captain Silkwood the com officer reported, as he monitored communication on the military and civilian channels. "Caprica City Defense reports they have two inbound nukes they are tracking!"

"Our own Mainframe has also gone off line! Our defensive systems went down as soon as we tried to target the nuke," Colonel Edwards said with concern in his normally steady voice. "If not for the raptors that nuke would have gotten us."

"See if you can find out what happened to our systems," General Ashton ordered wondering just what the Cylons had done to shut down the Defense Mainframes. He feared that they would not have enough time to find out. It could have been sabotage or some type of virus set to activate with the advent of the Cylon attack. He had been right all along about depending too much on networked computers.

"Sir our raptors confirm two inbound nukes aimed at Caprica City," Colonel Edwards reported his face turning pale. "Captain Sims says the distance is too great between the raptors and Caprica City to engage the nukes. They are trying but they can't get their manual targeting systems to lock onto the inbound nukes! They report that there is no trace on their scans of defensive measures being taken by the cities defenses. I am also getting unconfirmed reports that the two Battlestar Groups in orbit have been destroyed!"

"Frak!" General Ashton said as he realized the magnitude of the disaster that was hitting them. If those two nukes hit Caprica city millions of people would die. How had the Cylons taken out the fleet units, were these new Basestars that powerful?

A few moments later Caprica City went off the air and in the distance, two large mushroom clouds began rising slowly toward the stratosphere. Everyone in headquarters stood or sat quietly in shock over what had just happened. It was absolute quiet in the Command Center as everyone realized that millions of people had died in mere seconds in Caprica City. Caprica City had the densest and largest population of any Colonial city. Nearly twenty million people worked and made the Capitol their home.

In the orbiting Command Raptor, Lieutenant Susan James looked in shock and fear at the rising mushroom clouds where Caprica City was located. "Their huge!" she cried out as tears formed at the corners of her eyes. "Those nukes must be in the thirty to forty megaton range."

"Closer to fifty I would guess," Captain Sims replied trying to remain calm yet still feeling anger over the atrocity. "They want to make sure their targets are totally obliterated. All raptors stay focused. Or we could look just like Caprica City," Sims ordered firmly into his mini com. He knew that everyone would be feeling shock and dismay at what had just happened. "Just do your jobs as we all have been trained and we will get through this."

"Do you really think so?" Susan asked trying to keep the fear out of her voice. She didn't have any family in Caprica City. Her parents ran a small hunting and fishing lodge up in the mountains. They should be safe there. The lodge was pretty isolated.

"The General is a smart cookie Susan," Sims replied trying not to show his growing concern. "If anyone can get us through this it's the General!"

"The Cylons are bound to send raiders and Centurions in as soon as the nukes have done their job," Lieutenant James continued worriedly as she watched the Dradis and other sensors. "From my scans it looks like one of the nukes at Caprica City was an air burst and the other hit Caprica Defense Command."

Captain Simms knew that Caprica Defense Command was located beneath the massive fleet military and training base, which was supposed to protect the Capitol if attacked. The airburst was probably a neutron weapon aimed at killing the population, with the groundburst targeting Defense Command. Even so, a large section of Caprica City nearest the military base would have been leveled.

"It's time to go people,' General Ashton stated looking around the Command Center. Several of the younger people were openly crying, others looked to be in deep shock. "We are evacuating to Deep Shelter Base, I want everyone out of here within the hour! Once they realize we intercepted their nuke they are bound to launch others."

General Ashton came from a very rich and influential family that had for generations served in the military services of the Twelve Colonies. During the Cylon war of forty years ago, a massive underground base was constructed, with the highest secrecy, deep in the center of the planet's largest World Park. Nearly four hundred miles of pristine wilderness lay around the huge underground base with its only access being through the air.

The base had been designed as an emergency fall back facility for the Colonial leadership and military if they began to lose the war. When the armistice was finally signed, it was decided to close the facility and to fill it in with concrete. General Ashton's father had used his connections and prestige to get the government to sell him the facility with the understanding that he would fill in most of it and only retain a small portion for his private use. The government had been glad to get the base off their hands, as the facility was very expensive to maintain due to its isolated location.

Over the years, the Ashtons had carefully removed all mention of the facility from government and civilian records until the facility was all but forgotten. But the Ashtons had not destroyed the facility. Instead, they had updated it and provided it with all the modern technologies science had to offer. With the money and influence the family had, it was not difficult to hire private military contractors to work on the facility as needed. General Ashton's father had always believed that someday the Cylons would return, and he wanted a safe and secure place for his family.

General Ashton was fourth in the military chain of command on Caprica. Upon his father's death several years back, General Ashton had become responsible for the base. Currently his brother and two of his uncles were out serving with the fleet. Several cousins and nieces were in the Colonial marines scattered across the Colonies. Only his grandmother and one of his aunts were still on Caprica and both of them lived in Caprica City.

General Ashton had made several members of his Command Staff aware of the facility and had even given them tours of it. They had signed secrecy agreements to never reveal what he had shown them. Now that base might be their only hope for survival.


	5. Chapter 5

**COLONIAL FLEET HEADQUARTER**

**NEAR QUEENSTOWN, PICON**

The attack on Fleet Headquarters was over. Four nukes had impacted in the vicinity of the base. Only the arrival of the 2nd, 3rd, and 18th Battlestar Groups in orbit above Picon had interrupted the attack. The Cylon forces had suddenly jumped away, going for reinforcements. The arrival of six Battlestars, ten Gunstars, and twelve Escortstars all with networked systems that had been disconnected, had given the Cylons a moment of concern. Especially since disconnecting some of their networks, the Battlestars were no longer subject to the Cylon virus.

"Fleet units are still confirming receipt of transmission sir," Colonel Reinholt reported his face still slightly pale from the nuke strikes.

"Fleet Admiral Corman nodded as he continued to study the display screens arrayed around him. Some were beginning to show some information again but a lot were still just static. The nuke strikes on the surface hadn't helped any. The rumbling and shaking of the Command Center was still fresh in his mind. Fortunately, the entire underground facility was protected by massive spring shocks to reduce the vibration from a nuclear strike. "Any word from Nagala yet?"

"Yes sir," Colonel Reinholt replied turning to face Corman. "He is trying to get Virgon's Defense Grid back up, he hopes to use it to pin the Cylon fleet between him and his Battlestars.

"What does he have there?" Corman asked. He knew that every surviving Colonial warship that could, would be trying to reach Virgon and Admiral Nagala.

"24 Battlestars, 28 Gunstars and 34 Escortstars," Reinholt replied looking at the latest numbers they had. "There are more ships still on the way."

"What about Admiral Davidson?" Nagala asked wondering if there was even a remote chance that they could hold Scorpia. "What is his current fleet strength?"

"Admiral Davidson has 12 Battlestars, 14 Gunstars, and 18 Escortstars," Admiral Simmons responded. "He is also reporting that a large Cylon force has jumped into range and is closing on his ships. He estimates they will be in combat range in ten minutes. Evacuation ships are still being loaded; he feels that he will have no choice but to engage the approaching Cylon fleet."

Corman closed his eyes then looked around the Command Center as a few more screens began to come back on line. "Any word on the President or the rest of the Cabinet?"

"Nothing," Admiral Simmons replied with disgust in his voice. "Adar tried to surrender and we have several unconfirmed reports of Caprica City being nuked. If he was there, he's dead and probably the Cabinet as well."

"Sir! New Dradis contacts!" A voice shouted in alarm.

"How many?" Admiral Corman demanded, knowing it was more Cylons.

Reports from the surface indicated that most of the military base had been destroyed and Queenstown was burning! Corman knew that millions had died in the previous Cylon attack. That fraken Cylon virus! The fleet ships, the Defense Satellites, and even the Planetary Defense Mainframe had all been destroyed. They had been powerless to stop the attack against Picon. He knew that all across Picon cities were in flame.

"I have 14 Cylon Basestars and what looks like 10 of their Support Ships on Dradis!" the Dradis operator reported.

Admiral Corman was silent for a moment, then he reached a decision that would probably mean all their deaths, but he knew that it was the right one if he was going to buy the time Admiral Clements needed to implement Case Omega fully. "Admiral Simmons, order the 2nd, 3rd, and 18th Battlestar Groups to jump to Virgon and join Admiral Nagala."

"Sir that will leave us almost defenseless if the planetary defenses stay down!" Admiral Simmons protested his face turning pale not wanting to believe what he had just heard. "We have only a few of our own interceptor missile batteries that are reporting active upon the surface around the perimeter of the base. Picon Planetary Defense Headquarters is reporting only two PDSs are still responding, and those because they have emergency repair crews on board and they have disconnected some of the networks. The rest have shut down due to this fraking Cylon virus."

"I know but those ships are too heavily outnumbered. They will be destroyed if they stay here. At least with Admiral Nagala and the Virgon defenses, if they remain on line they might stand a chance. We just might be able to hold Virgon," Corman responded feeling a heavy weight descend upon his shoulders. "We might just be able to save one Colony!"

"Contact Admiral Davidson, they are to continue to evacuate as many people as possible to Virgon to join the evacuation fleet that Admiral Nagala is assembling," Admiral Corman continued in a steady commanding tone. "They are authorized to engage the Cylon forces approaching them. Once the Scorpia evacuation fleet has jumped, he is to jump his forces to Virgon to reinforce Nagala."

"Virgon," Simmons sighed heavily accepting the inevitable. "All of our hopes depend on one Colony and Admiral Nagala!"

"Get every surviving raptor we have armed with interceptor missiles and launched," Corman continued his eyes sweeping across the huge Command Center; everyone was doing their jobs and not panicking. "They will need to be operating with their manual controls and not depending on their computer systems, same for any ground based viper squadrons that are still operational. Perhaps we can hold these Basestars here for awhile before they attack Nagala!"

"Very well sir," Admiral Simmons replied as he passed the order to the three orbiting fleets and then he contacted Admiral Davidson.

Moments later the three defending fleets vanished from their screens. Picon lay nearly defenseless as the Cylon fleet continued to approach. Voices could be heard rising in the Command Center as people began to realize what was happening. The majority of the planet's defenses were down and now their defending fleets were gone.

"They're launching raiders!" one voice shouted only to be outdone by another. "We have over one thousand raiders in bound."

"They are trying to hack our system again!" Colonel Reinholt reported as he turned to face Admiral Corman. "Sir, it's time for you to evacuate. We have a raptor standing by! You can jump to Virgon and join Admiral Nagala. You will be safe aboard the Atlantia!"

The Fleet Admiral shook his head slowly looking at his Chief of Staff and Colonel Reinholt. Then his gaze moved to the men and women around the Command Center, some of whom were looking at him with fear and worry in their eyes from their stations. "No Colonel, my place is here. Get Admiral Nagala on the line."

"All ground based raptors and vipers have been launched sir," Admiral Simmons commented as he studied the few data screens that were still available to him that showed what was going on around the planet. "The initial Cylon attack primarily targeted our military bases and a few of the larger cities. We don't have a lot of assets available!"

Colonel Reinholt moved to the com station to activate Fleet Com Line Alpha. After a few minutes he finally said, "I have Admiral Nagala sir, but you better make it quick."

"What's wrong?" Corman asked looking into Reinholt's stress filled eyes.

"The two PDSs have begun to target the Cylons but the enemy Basestars have already started to launch missiles at the planet, a fraking lot of missiles." Colonel Reinholt reported his face turning pale. "I don't think the two PDSs are going to be able to stop them, especially with their networks disconnected."

"Nukes?" Corman asked knowing deep down in his heart they were. The fraking Cylons ships seemed to be filled with nukes. It seemed as if they had fallen in love with the damn things!

Reinholt nodded with a grim look on his face. "A fraking lot of nukes sir. Our defenses will be saturated. We can't stop them all, not by a long shot. We are diverting raptors up to help intercept the missiles but there are just too many of them!"

"What about the viper squadrons?" Admiral Corman asked. He wanted to buy Nagala as much time as possible.

"They are already engaged with the Cylon raiders. We estimate that the Cylons have now launched over three thousand raiders, we have less then eight hundred vipers left," Reinholt replied his tone indicating it was hopeless.

Any word from the other Colonies?" Corman continued.

"Much of our information is coming from civilian ships sir," Admiral Simmons replied. "We know that Tauron was hard hit, there are reports of massive fires raging across the planet. The entire land mass of Aquaria is reported covered in fires and smoke, the underwater cities were also hit. Reports on the other Colonies are about the same. All report heavy damage and raging fires from nuclear strikes. Many of the strikes have been in the fifty-megaton range.

"Time to impact of the missiles?" Corman asked suddenly feeling very calm knowing he had made the right decision.

"Just less than ten minutes sir," Admiral Simmons replied as he looked at his data feeds. "We have just lost one of the operational PDSs. But it did manage to take out two Cylon Basestars before it was destroyed. The other is in continuous launch mode with its heavy missiles and defensive interceptors but it won't survive much longer. It has already taken a lot of damage."

Admiral Corman tapped his mini com, which allowed him to contact all the stations in the Command Center. "Attention all personnel, get to the deep shelters and good luck, you are all a credit to the Colonial military and I am very proud of each and every one of you!"

**COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER**

**BATTLESTAR ATLANTIA **

**VIRGON**

I have Fleet Admiral Corman on Fleet Com Line Alpha," the Lieutenant sitting in front of the com console spoke.

Admiral Nagala flipped on his mini com and gestured for the Lieutenant to transfer the communications over to him.

"We thought you were gone sir," Nagala spoke with relief in his voice.

"It won't be much longer I'm afraid," Admiral Corman replied in his normal calm commanding voice. "The Cylons have jumped a major force into our space and we are already engaging them with what is left of our forces here at Picon. I sent our defending fleet units to join you at Virgon."

"Can you escape, join us here?" Admiral Nagala asked wishing there was some way he could rescue his life long friend. There was so much they had done together, so many things they had worked on for the benefit of the fleet.

"No, my place is here Robert," Corman replied softly. "Just as yours is with the fleet." He paused for a moment and then his voice came back over the com. "The last of the civilian ships that we could get up and away from Picon have left, they should be joining you shortly. We didn't get as many away as we would have liked, there were so many ships lost in the first nuclear strike. Have you heard from Andrea?"

"She should be safe, as well as the rest of the Caspian system," Nagala replied wishing he could see his daughter one last time. "I dispatched several Columbia 2s and some of the Marine Assault Ships to the system. I am ordering them to evacuate to Shadow Base."

Corman was quiet for a moment. This move by Nagala didn't surprise him, after all Andrea was his only child. "At least that will give us more survivors if Admiral Stone returns on schedule. You did the right thing Robert, I hope Andrea survives this!"

"We have ships arriving steadily from Scorpia and the evacuation from Virgon is still continuing," Nagala replied looking down at the operation's table, which showed the large number of civilian ships gathering behind one of Virgon's moons. "If we can't hold Virgon they should be able to get away, Admiral Clements will have a lot of civilians to join his fleet."

"I just hope he gets away from Caprica," Admiral Corman replied worriedly. "A lot is riding on his survival, even though General Collins could fill in if necessary."

"Our fleets here and at Scorpia should draw most of the Cylon forces away from Caprica," Admiral Nagala replied as a warning tone on the Dradis screen sounded showing two more green icons. Glancing at the operation's table, he saw that two more Gunstars had arrived.

"I've sent you the latest fleet dispositions as we currently know them?" Corman continued. "We have lost contact with a lot of our ships and bases. I fear the Cylons are rapidly overrunning our positions."

"Yes sir," Nagala replied. "It looks like we have already lost over half the fleet. I'm massing what's left of our forces at Virgon and Scorpia, but it isn't much compared to what we started out with. Admiral Davidson is already heavily engaged with Cylon forces over Scorpia and is being heavily pressed. He is trying to buy time for the final evacuation ships to jump away to our assembly point behind Virgon's moon. He will jump his surviving forces here as soon as the last of the Scorpia evacuation fleet is safely away."

"Have you spoken with Admiral Clements recently?" Corman asked wondering how Clements was doing implementing Case Omega. He knew that if anyone could successfully complete Case Omega it would be Admiral Clements. He was a very talented Admiral and close friend. Corman hoped that Johnathan survived all of this.

"We've had some contact with Admiral Clements but it's been spotty," Nagala replied his voice showing some concern. His station is still intact above Caprica but I can't say how long that situation will continue. We've lost contact with all the rest of the Colonies except Virgon, Scorpia, and Picon."

"You will lose contact with us shortly," Admiral Corman replied calmly. "Our screens show most of our defending forces have been overwhelmed and we have a lot of inbound nukes. We have a number of raptors up above the base armed with interceptor missiles, but they won't last long. We know from civilian reports and from a few surviving warships, the rest of the Colonies have been heavily nuked by the Cylons. "

"You better get to the deep shelters then," Nagala spoke worriedly. He knew that the deep shelters at Fleet Headquarters were designed to take several nuke strikes.

Corman sighed heavily over the com knowing his time was close. "I think I will be staying in the Command Center Robert. We have numerous nukes inbound at one-minute intervals. Most of the Planetary Defense Systems are down and very few of the nukes are being intercepted except by the raptors we have up, and they are running out of interceptor missiles. Even the deep shelters can't take the number of strikes that will soon hit the base."

Nagala stood quietly in the CIC of the Atlantia pondering the soon to be fate of his closest friend. He didn't know what to say. "Frak!"

"No time for that now Robert. You can deal with the dead later," Corman replied calmly. "You and Johnathan have a job to do if our people are to survive."

"I just wish you were here Peter," Nagala responded softly taking a deep breath.

Corman finally spoke after several moments of silence. "I'm transferring Fleet Command over to you. And Robert if you can contact Johnathan again, tell him good luck and good hunting."

"Understood sir. Admiral Clements and I will make you proud," Nagala replied knowing he was about to lose his best friend.

"I know the two of you will. All is not lost not if Johnathan succeeds," Corman replied. "Oh, and Robert?"

"Yes?" Nagala responded, his voice quivering slightly.

"Good hunting!" Corman spoke seemingly without fear in his voice. In the background, frightened voices and a few screams could be heard and what sounded like a faint rumbling sound.

Then the line dissolved into static and then complete quiet. Fleet Headquarters and Admiral Corman were gone!

"Send the following to all units," Admiral Corman ordered looking over at the communications officer with determination in his eyes.

"Attention all Colonial units: Picon Fleet Headquarters has been destroyed. As of now, I am assuming command of the fleet, Robert Nagala Fleet Admiral, Commanding."

**CAPRICA STATION**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

Time seemed to pass slowly as Clements stood waiting in the CIC. His crew was working tirelessly trying to bring the old computer system back on line. If the Cylons gave them the time, they might just make it. If not then they were finished. They would not be able to stop the Cylons from overrunning the station or destroying it out right. He knew the Cylons were still nuking Caprica and Gemenon and there was nothing he could do about it. He closed his eyes praying to the Gods of Kobol that his wife's death had been quick. He didn't want to think about her suffering on the imperiled planet below.

All over the station, civilians and fleet personnel were going to their ships as heavily armed marines kept order throughout the massive station. The marines kept a watchful protective eye with one finger on the trigger of their heavy assault rifles knowing that Cylon Centurions could make an appearance at any moment. A firefight in the crowded corridors of the station would result in a civilian blood bath. The marines were determined not to allow that to happen.

Supplies were being hurriedly loaded aboard ships by station dockworkers even as panicked civilians demanded to know what was going on. Station personnel did their jobs knowing the station could be taken out at any minute. Communications were still on line throughout the station from the emergency power. Everything was being run manually since the station's computer systems were down. Clements had ordered that all ships were to be loaded with supplies and fuel as quickly as possible. Dock hands worked quickly loading supplies and topping off Tylium tanks. Ship Captains and crews ushered hundreds and thousands of near panicked civilians into their ships trying to get them situated under the watchful protective eyes of the marines.

Nearly thirty thousand station personnel were working tirelessly trying to complete the orders before time ran out. They knew that at any moment nukes could strike the station, or the Cylons could send their Centurions to try to board. At key points across the station, heavily armed squads of marines waited determinedly at pre determined choke points. If the Cylons tried to board the station, they would be met with deadly force. It was the marine's job to slow the Cylons down long enough to allow the civilians the time they needed to escape.

Clements was thankful that General Abramson and his marines were present. The station normally carried a marine complement of around five hundred; the extra marines of General Abramson's command were a Godsend. So far, his crew was handling the situation well. He knew that a lot of it would be from shock not wanting to accept what was happening. Later, when they had time to allow all of what was happening to assimilate, he knew that many would have a very hard time accepting the losses of so many friends and loved ones. Clements himself was finding it hard not to wonder about his wife and his son Martin. His mind kept straying to the last time they had been together at Crystal Falls World Park. He knew, thanks to the Cylons, they would never be able to share those kinds of moments again.

Nearly two long nerve-wrenching hours passed before Major Adams finally turned to Clements. "We are ready to switch over sir. All station systems are ready for reactivation under our old computer system."

"Very well, switch over but keep the station power at a minimum," Clements ordered watching the Dradis screen closely. He was surprised the Cylons hadn't tried to board the station. He wondered why they were waiting. "I don't want the Cylons to realize we have the power back on. Bring the weapons systems on line but don't activate them yet. There are two PDSs in orbit below us. I want to send the old computer commands to them from our Mainframe. If we can wipe their current programming and place them under our control, it will give us a strategic advantage against the Cylons. Perhaps we can set up a nasty little surprise for our Cylon friends out there."

Major Adams nodded, wondering if it was possible. He walked over to one of the computer specialists and began talking the idea over with him. The PDSs were very powerful. After all, they were built to protect Caprica. If they could take control of the nearer two, it would add a lot of firepower to the station.

A few moments later full station power returned to the CIC. View screens came on and the lights brightened visibly. Clements smiled feeling relieved as he saw that the Cylons were still just sitting there. There was no reaction to the power up. Clements hoped the Cylons hadn't detected it. Now if they could just get control of the two satellites. Another few minutes and he would make them pay for what they had done to Caprica!

"Sir I have Admiral Nagala on the com for you," Captain Reed reported as she managed to penetrate the interference on the subspace channels now that she had full power to work with once again. It was difficult to penetrate the Cylon jamming but she had managed it.

"Put him on the speaker," Admiral Clements ordered surprised. He hadn't expected to hear from Nagala again. He felt relieved knowing that part of the fleet at least was still fighting.

"Admiral Clements," Nagala's relieved voice came over the com system. "We thought we had lost you. What is your current status?"

Quickly Clements gave him a rundown of their current situation.

"With your power back and if you can gain control of those two PDSs you should be able to buy enough time to evacuate," Nagala commented. "I currently have 30 Battlestars, 38 Gunstars, and 46 Escortstars with me, that's nearly a quarter of our original fleet. Admiral Davidson is still holding Scorpia but he is taking heavy ship losses and will have to fall back to Virgon shortly."

"What about the evacuation that Corman spoke of earlier?" Clements asked wondering how many other civilians and warships might be joining his evacuation fleet once they jumped.

"We have quite a few ships from Virgon and Scorpia and a few made it in from Picon," Admiral Nagala replied recalling all the ships that were gathering behind the moon. "They are currently hidden behind Virgon's moon in low orbit protected by Escortstars and an Assault Gunstar. I have also evacuated all unnecessary fleet personnel from my ships. Under Case Omega, they will be jumping to one of the emergency rally points shortly. The Commander of the Gunstar has the coordinates and follow up coordinates if needed."

What about the Cylons?" Clements asked wondering just what Nagala was facing. "We have also sent out all the necessary orders for Case Omega and if things go as we hope, we will be jumping away from Caprica shortly with a large civilian fleet with BSG 9 as escort."

"Our Dradis systems and scanners show over 90 Baseships and 70 Support Ships opposing us with more arriving every minute," Nagala replied in a surprisingly calm voice. The Support Ships seem to be some type of raider transport. They are slightly larger then the old Cylon Hades Class Basestars of the first war and are very lightly armed. They hold one fraking lot of raiders though!"

"We haven't seen any of their Support Ships here," Clements replied worried about the size of the Cylon fleet opposing Admiral Nagala. Could he hold out with the fleet he had and Virgon's defenses?

"We have also discovered how the Cylons shut down our fleet systems," Nagala continued. "It was in the new navigational program and hardware. Order Admiral Stockwell to disconnect the hardware and reboot his system back up under the old navigation program. That should restore his ship's power and systems. The same goes for the vipers and raptors. Disconnect the hardware, wipe the program, and reinstall the old navigation program."

"Can you get away?" Clements asked hoping Nagala would be able to join him. "Can you and your ships jump with the evacuation fleet?"

Nagala was silent for a moment before he replied. "I don't think so Johnathan. Our vipers are already engaged and we are heavily outnumbered. Many of the ships that reached our rally point are seriously damaged. We can buy you some time but I don't think we can get away from Virgon. I am going to try to pin the Cylons between the orbital defenses and us. We can hurt them, but there are just too many!"

"I understand," Admiral Clements replied wishing there was some other way. "We have lost a lot of good people today."

"Yes," Nagala responded calmly hoping that his daughter Andrea was safe in the Caspian system. "If we leave, they will descend on you in overwhelming force, and the evacuation fleet hidden near Virgon's moon is not quite ready to jump yet. We still have a number of civilian ships inbound. We will hold the Cylons here and inflict as much damage on them as we can, while you do what you need to do. We both know what Case Omega requires. After all, you, Admiral Corman, and I created it. I was in contact with Fleet Headquarters on Picon when it was nuked. The Admiral wished you the best of luck and good hunting Johnathan. This plan originated with Admiral Corman. At the time, I couldn't believe it would ever be needed, but now I am extremely glad we did it. You will shortly be in command of the fleet. We will try to take out as many of these Cylon ships as we can." With that final comment, communications faded to be replaced by lonely static.

"We have lost contact," Captain Reed stated as she tried to reestablish communication. "Cylon jamming is being indicated; the subspace channels are down again, I will keep trying."

"We have control of the two PDSs," Major Adams said triumphantly turning with a satisfied smile to look at Admiral Clements. "We used the old system to erase the current programming and replaced it with ours. We have complete control of both of them. We have also set up firewalls to prevent or hopefully slow down future Cylon interference."

"Good, set up the two PDSs to take out the Cylon Basestars and the raiders that are sitting around the station," Admiral Clements ordered wondering how the Cylons would respond when the PDSs fired on them. They would not be expecting an attack from the satellites. "I want our own defenses to come back on line at the same time. Let's see if we can't get rid of our unwelcome visitors. Contact Admiral Stockwell and give him the information about the navigation program. We will need his ships back on line shortly. Check for any other ships that might contain the program and hardware. Get our own vipers retasked and ready to launch. We could run out of time very shortly. I don't know how long Nagala can hold out. Once his fleet has been destroyed, the Cylons will be after us, especially if we succeed in destroying these two Basestars. We will be the only major military asset left in the Colonies and the Cylons can't afford to leave us alone too long."

Clements thought for a moment about all the civilian ships that could be heard over the com system. Numerous cries for help were still coming in from civilian ships that were close enough to Caprica to allow their com systems to penetrate the Cylon jamming.

"As soon as we get those Cylons taken care of, I want all of our raptors launched and sent out after as many of those civilian ships as we can find," Clements continued not wanting to leave them behind if he could help it. "Have them jump back here and join the fleet we are assembling. We can't save all of them but we might be able to save some of them."

"Yes sir," Major Adams responded.

It was several minutes later that Adams turned to speak with Admiral Clements. "We are ready to launch our attack sir. We have two squadrons of vipers ready to launch and Admiral Stockwell reports he is ready to bring his ships back on line on your order. They are currently retasking their vipers and will have two squadrons ready to launch in ten more minutes."

"We can't wait any longer; the Cylons could attack this station at any moment," Clements replied looking across the large CIC. "Order Admiral Stockwell to begin to power up his ships. As soon as he has acknowledged that order, have the PDSs fire. Bring our weapons systems back fully on line and begin taking out those raiders! I want the space around this station clear of Cylons!"

Two minutes later Major Adams nodded at the weapon's officer and system's officer. Instantly all the lights and consoles in the CIC brightened as full power was restored. The main view screens switched over to show the two Cylon Basestars. Another view screen was focused on the nearest PDS on which multiple missile ports were now sliding open. The PDSs were one thousand meters in diameter and were basically massive missile platforms. They were shielded with heavy reactive armor and protected by a powerful point defense system. Dozens of missiles could be seen launching from the PDS in waves. Jonathan knew that the other PDS would look the same.

"Missile impact on the Cylon Basestars in fifteen seconds," the Dradis operator reported. "They are spinning up their FTL drives but I don't believe they will have time to jump before the missiles hit."

"Our point defense weapons have been activated and have targeted the Cylon raiders," Major Adams added. "Firing has commenced."

On the main view screen, the Cylon Basestars had activated their limited point defense systems as they attempted to take out the incoming missiles. The Basestars didn't have the massive point defense that a Battlestar had. They depended too much on their raiders to defend them.

Ten of the first incoming missiles were destroyed, and then two twenty-kiloton nukes impacted on the first Basestar staggering it. More missiles made it through and one of the arms of the ship broke off exploding into hundreds of pieces. Multiple fiery explosions could be seen racing across the Basestar blasting huge gaping holes in the ship, then it exploded in a fiery flash as several powerful nukes penetrated deep within and went off at once. A huge red fireball filled the screen where the Basestar had been.

The other Basestar was also under heavy attack. The PDSs carried large nuclear and conventional missiles with an ECM package capable of surviving and penetrating Cylon defenses. Where a Battlestar was only capable of launching a few missiles at a time, the PDSs could launch dozens. Less then thirty seconds after the first Basestar had been destroyed, the second Basestar had been reduced to glowing burning wreckage.

"We have inbound nukes from the raiders," the Dradis officer reported as a warning tone sounded on his console.

"Point defense is taking them out," Major Adams reported watching the screens closely. The main view screen switched to show the area around the station. Fiery explosions were visible across the screen as point defense batteries took out both Cylon raiders and inbound ordinance. Interceptor missiles from the PDSs were also taking out many of the raiders in balls of crimson fire.

Clements wasn't too concerned about the raiders, knowing the station's defensive capability. The Basestars had been a worry. The shipyard had been designed to handle the type of attack the raiders were currently launching.

"Cylon raiders are withdrawing," Major Adams reported watching the Dradis as the raiders tried to disengage.

"Launch our vipers," Clements ordered his eyes narrowing. "Intercept those raiders and destroy them!"

On another view screen, vipers could be seen launching from their launch tubes. In less then a minute 40 vipers were launched and in hot pursuit of the retreating raiders.

"Contact Admiral Stockwell," Clements ordered looking over at Major Adams. "He is to launch his Battlestar Group and take up a position between Caprica and us. That way the two PDSs and the station will cover him. Begin launching civilian ships as soon as they are loaded and we have confirmed that they are filled to capacity with both people and supplies. I want marines to check those ships. I don't want any half-empty vessel leaving this station! We probably have between four to six hours before we can expect a massive Cylon attack. I don't think they will hit us until they have dealt with Admiral Davidson and Admiral Nagala."

Major Adams nodded and began carrying out the orders. A number of the civilian ships were already loaded and could be sent out along with BSG 9.

"What about the Basestars on the far side of Caprica, what is their current status?" Admiral Clements asked wondering how they would react to the destruction of the two Basestars that had been close to Caprica Station. If they proceeded around the planet toward the station, he might be forced to use BSG 9 to engage them. With the Cylon virus eliminated, he felt confident that Stockwell's Battlestar Group could probably handle the Basestars.

"They have jumped away sir, evidently when we took out the two on this side with the PDSs they jumped away to safety," the Dradis operator replied. "They must have thought the satellites on their side of the planet might be coming back on line also."

"Can we bring the other satellites back on line," Clements asked looking over at Adams. With all of them on line, they could stand up to a very large Cylon fleet. It could give them time to evacuate a lot of people off the surface of Caprica.

"No sir," Major Adams replied shaking his head slightly. "Only the two satellites closest to us were accessible. They were originally set up to support us if needed so we have their complete access codes. We can't do anything about the others."

"Contact Caprica, or anyone that will respond," Admiral Clements continued looking over at Captain Reed. He wanted to rescue as many people as possible. "Broadcast a message that anyone that can make it to an FTL capable ship needs to launch and rendezvous with us within the next four hours. There might be survivors with ships still on the ground. Surely the Cylons couldn't have hit everything."

Yes sir," Captain Reed replied as she began transmitting a message in the clear that could be heard on the surface. She would set the message up to repeat every ten minutes. She hoped that people would hear it. She still was finding it hard to cope with what the Cylons had done. She glanced up at the main view screen. On the view screen, the Caprica atmosphere was turning a very dismal light brown. All the dust and contaminates from the nukes and the fires that were now burning across the planet were spreading into the atmosphere.

Admiral Clements gazed at the large view screen, which showed Caprica in silence. So many people had died. He found it incomprehensible how the Cylons could have done this. Why they had decided that the human race had to be wiped out? His gaze narrowed until his eyes were focused on the location of Caprica City, but all the screen showed was a glowing dust cloud hovering above the site of the capital of the Colonies. Clements felt a sudden chill as he realized what all had been lost. Someday he vowed the Cylons would be made to pay for the atrocity they had committed!


	6. Chapter 6

**COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER **

**BATLESTAR ATLANTIA **

**VIRGON SYSTEM**

"Sir, Governor Anderlen has reported that the last of the civilian ships have launched form Virgon, they should be joining the civilian fleet shortly," the communications lieutenant reported.

"We have six of the PDSs on line manned by volunteer crews," Commander Owens reported walking over to the operation's table. "In addition we have 1,200 vipers and 300 raptors armed and ready for take off down on the surface."

"What about the Cylons?" Nagala demanded looking up at the Dradis screen, which showed numerous red icons hovering just outside of combat range. He didn't dare launch his viper squadrons at the tempting targets. Without support from his Battlestars and Gunstars, they would be wiped out. Already the fleets viper screen and Cylon raiders were skirmishing between the two fleets. In times past, this would be considered a major battle but with the number of vipers and raiders that would shortly be engaged, this could only be considered a minor skirmish.

"They still aren't moving," Commander Owens replied studying the Dradis screen for a moment. "They must be waiting for the ships that are engaged with Admiral Davidson at Scorpia. At least we got a lot of people off Virgon!"

"Have we managed to reestablish contact with Admiral Davidson?" Nagala asked with a trace of concern creeping into his voice. He had been expecting to see Admiral Davidson and the remains of his fleet make an appearance here at Virgon at any time once they withdrew from Scorpia.

"No sir," Commander Owens replied shaking is head. "Not since he reported that his fleet was heavily engaged with a large number of Cylon units. His fleet was covering the final evacuation ships from Scorpia."

A warning tone sounded on the Dradis drawing the eyes of both Admiral Nagala and Commander Owens. Numerous red icons began appearing directly behind the ones that were already there. For several minutes, the red icons continued to appear until the Dradis screen seemed to be covered with the deadly icons.

"I don't think Admiral Davidson got away," Commander Owens spoke quietly knowing now that no more reinforcements were coming.

"Fleet Com Line Alpha now!" Nagala ordered his eyes blazing as he gazed at the red icons knowing what they signified. The rest of the fleet would have spotted the new arrivals. He had hoped that Admiral Davidson could break away from his engagement with the Cylons but evidently that had not been possible. Nagala hoped that Davidson had made the Cylons pay dearly for what they had done to Scorpia and the other Colonies.

"Attention all Colonial units: Cylon forces have jumped into the system in mass. It looks like this might be their entire fleet," Nagala spoke in a strong commanding voice. "The enemy outnumbers us by at least four to one and Admiral Davidson's task force at Scorpia has probably been destroyed. Our job is to protect the civilian ships that have gathered and give them the time they need to jump. We want to inflict as much damage as possible on the Cylon fleet. All ships prepare to engage! We will try to pin them between us and the Virgon defenses!"

Nagala turned back to Commander Owens. "Launch all vipers including the reserves and have the squadrons on Virgon launch as well. We will try to hit them with a massive viper strike. Send in our raptors also, we have armed them with nukes, perhaps we can get a few good hits in before they respond in kind. Order the raptors from Virgon to go into low orbit beneath the PDSs, their primary job will be to intercept any planetary bombardment missiles that the satellites miss."

From the Atlantia and the other Battlestars and Gunstars of the fleet, vipers and raptors began to launch taking up a defensive position in front of the Colonial line.

"Virgon is launching all its raptor and viper squadrons," Commander Owens reported as he listened to the launch confirmations over his mini com. "All ships complying, sir."

Admiral Nagala nodded, his face looking determined. "Let' go get them Jason, it's time the Cylons learn what war is really about!"

Commander Owens transmitted an order and the massed vipers and raptors hurled themselves at the Cylon fleet with the Colonial fleet close behind.

**CAPRICA STATION**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

Time passed on the station as the crew worked loading passengers and supplies on board the ships still docked on the station. Fortunately, the station had been designed to handle a very large number of ships since Caprica was the most heavily populated and industrialized planet in the Twelve Colonies. It also helped now that power was fully restored to all the station's systems.

Raptors were launching and returning from their rescue missions. Sometimes they were accompanied by a civilian ship, but most of the time they were not. It was becoming rapidly evident that Cylon heavy raiders were also hunting down the civilians. Very quickly, the civilian com channels were becoming quiet. Communication with the surface of Caprica was also very spotty. Conditions on the surface were bad and steadily getting worse. Many of the signals received from the surface were frantic pleas for medical help. It seemed that most of the larger cities had been nuked. Some had been hit with fifty-megaton nukes and others with powerful neutron weapons.

Admiral Clements ordered all fleet personnel that had been in transit that were currently on the station, to report to two of the Colonial fleet personnel carriers. When Major Adams inquired as to why, Clements only replied that they might be needed later and he didn't want them scattered over the entire fleet.

Nearly four more hours passed. Admiral Clements looked at the main view screen, which showed the growing fleet which BSG 9 protected. It was comforting seeing the Mercury Class Battlestar Picon and the Jupiter Class Battlestar Cimitar on the outskirts of the fleet. There had been 82 civilian ships on station at the time of the attack. Those had been loaded and now were protected by Admiral Stockwell. In addition, the raptors had brought in 38 other ships containing nearly 42,000 more civilians. These ships had been docked to the station and their Tylium tanks quickly topped off.

Another 18 ships containing 14,000 people had come up from the surface of Caprica. Their reports of the surface conditions had been both shocking and horrifying. They had now confirmed that the Cylons had used 50 Megaton nukes or massive neutron weapons on all the major cities and slightly smaller nukes on the major military installations. Only one major marine base and a small fleet training facility had escaped destruction. From those two bases, another 11,000 marines and 2,800 fleet personnel had been rescued using the marine assault shuttles, which were aboard the marine transports in orbit.

Admiral Clements made a call to the Marine Assault Vessel Vengeance. He had one final order he needed the marines to take care of. "General Abramson this is Admiral Clements."

"Yes sir," General Abramson responded. "My men are still scattered across the station helping with the evacuation."

"They have been a big help," Clements replied appreciatively. "But it is almost time to leave. Start recalling your people. I want you to have an explosives team report to the main ammo locker and remove a dozen nuclear scuttling charges. We are going to destroy the station when we leave. I am sending Major Adams down to the vaults, which are located in the center of the station. I will have my people meet yours at the main ammo locker. I want one nuke charge placed on top of the old Cylon Mainframe. I want to make absolutely sure the Cylons don't recover it. I also want all the charges set so they can be remote detonated from the Battlestar Caprica on my command."

"Yes sir," Abramson responded. "I am sending a couple of squads now. It won't take us long to set the charges. I will get back with you when we are done sir."

"Admiral, we are receiving a com message from the Atlantia, Admiral Nagala is on the line. The signal is very weak; we have had to boost it considerably just to be able to hear it. There is still a lot of Cylon interference," Captain Reed reported as she struggled to keep the subspace channel open one final time.

Clements pressed the com switch on his console. "Admiral this is Admiral Clements what is your status, is there anything we can do?" He hadn't really expected to hear from Nagala again.

Nagala's voice came over the com, sounding worn and exhausted. "No Johnathan, the battle here is almost over. Our vipers have been decimated. They took a heavy toll on the Cylon raiders but there are just too many. We did manage to get in some nuke strikes with our raptors, but most of them have now been destroyed also. Many of our ships have been destroyed, others are too heavily damaged to activate their FTLs to escape, and that includes the Atlantia. The Cylon Basestars are rapidly closing on our position to finish us off. We probably only have a few more minutes. They are smashing Virgon's defenses as well with massive raider attacks. Virgon's defenses are taking out a fraking lot of them but there are just too many. We have destroyed thousands of them Johnathan but they still keep coming! Once they are finished with us, you can expect them to turn their attention back to the Colonies. Particularly Caprica. You are the only base that is still communicating. You need to leave Johnathan. Your time is about to run out. You will be their primary target very shortly!"

Clements was silent for a moment. He had known Admiral Nagala for a long time. "We are nearly ready Admiral. We will be gone in less then thirty minutes. I have implemented Case Omega as ordered. All units associated with Case Omega have responded. Someday we will return Robert, we will retake the Colonies!"

"I hope so Jonathan, but right now your main priority is the survival of our people. One more thing, Admiral Davidson's fleet was destroyed at Scorpia. The Pegasus didn't make it out. I'm sorry Johnathan, Martin was a good officer."

Clements was silent for a long moment knowing his son had died fighting the Cylons at Scorpia. He wished he could have told his son how he felt about him one last time. He closed his eyes shaking his head slightly, finding it hard to accept everyone he had lost. His wife, his son, all their friends, so many good people had died at the hands of the Cylons today. Then opening his eyes he forced himself to respond to Nagala. "Thanks Robert, Martin was doing what he loved the most. Flying a viper for the fleet!"

"I'm sure he took a lot of them with him Johnathan, may the Lords of Kobol be with you!" Nagala spoke solemnly.

In the background of the com, Clements heard what sounded like several explosions and a number of screams and then the com went silent.

Clements knew that his long time friend and the Atlantia were probably gone. For a moment, Clements felt the full weight of the awesome responsibility that now rested squarely upon his shoulders. With determination, Clements hit the com button, which granted him access to the entire station.

"This is Admiral Clements, all station and marine personnel are ordered to report to their evacuation ships immediately. We are leaving," Clements looked around the CIC at the many people who were watching him awaiting his orders.

"Alright people lets go, we have done everything here that we can!"

A few minutes later Clements was in the CIC of the Valkyrie Class Battlestar Caprica as it slowly backed out of its docking bay. Major Adams stood at his side as they looked over the shipyard one final time. The shipyard was like a second home to them.

"We could place the weapons systems on automatic, with the two PDSs we control and the station we could do a lot of damage to the Cylons," Major Adams stated looking at Admiral Clements. "We could hurt them really bad; make them pay for what they have done to Caprica!"

"I know, but we don't want the Cylons to know just how many ships or what type of ships might have escaped," Admiral Clements responded, he also wished they didn't need to destroy the station. Major Adams was right. The station and the two PDSs could seriously hurt the Cylons. "This way it will keep them guessing. They may even think we went up with the station."

"Sir," the com officer interrupted. "We are getting a message from Commander Adama aboard the Galactica. He has taken command of the fleet and is ordering all ships to rendezvous at Ragnar Anchorage to regroup."

"Ragnar Anchorage," Adams said surprised glancing in surprise at Admiral Clements. "Why there and how has the Galactica managed to survive? She is the oldest vessel in the fleet!"

"The Galactica's decommissioning ceremony was scheduled for today. She is unarmed. The Cylons probably didn't consider her a serious threat. She can rearm at the Anchorage and the radiation from the radiation cloud that surrounds it is dangerous to the Cylons," Clements turned back to the com officer. "See if you can raise the Galactica and order her to jump here." Clements had known Bill Adama for years. He would be a big addition to the fleet with all of his years of experience. It didn't really surprise him that the Galactica was still out there.

"No response sir," the com officer replied shaking his head. "The Cylons seem to be jamming all frequencies again."

"They must have picked up Adama's broadcast. They will be waiting for him at the Anchorage," Adams said concerned. "We could send an Escortstar to get him and any ships that might be with the Galactica."

"We don't have time," Clements replied looking up at the Dradis. On the Dradis, two Cylon Basestars had jumped into orbit on the far side of Caprica. They were being picked up on the telemetry from one of the two Defense Satellites.

"Order the fleet to jump, we will follow shortly," Clements ordered knowing their time had finally ran out.

On the main view screen, which was focused on the assembled fleet. The ships began to disappear one by one, as they jumped to the jump coordinates. In a few minutes, the Caprica floated alone a short distance from the quiet shipyards.

Clements walked over to the weapon's officer. With a nod, he gave the order to destroy the shipyards. In moments, massive fiery explosions rocked the huge structure as nuclear fireballs vaporized and tore the station to pieces. Clements and the crew of the CIC watched as the place they had called home and worked at for so long went up in a fiery death.

"Jump us out of here Commander," Clements ordered to the Valkyrie's Commander, as the station blew apart as its Tylium storage tanks exploded vaporizing a major portion of the station.

Commander Talon nodded gravely and gave the order.

With a last look at the now brownish blue green globe of Caprica on one of the smaller screens, Clements let out a slow deep breath. His wife, many of the crew's families, and friends were all gone. Everyone had lost someone today. We will return someday, he thought. And when we do, the Cylons will pay for this day. There would be no mercy. The Cylons would die every fraking last one of them!

The Caprica jumped. The last scene from the main view screen was a view of the station, which was a giant expanding field of glowing gas and wreckage. The explosion of the Tylium storage tanks had completely decimated the huge station. Clements knew that the Cylons would have one frak of a time discerning from the wreckage what had been destroyed and what might have escaped. Even more important, the old Cylon Mainframe had been totally vaporized. A nuclear scuttling charge set directly on top the Mainframe had seen to that.

The Caprica emerged from the jump where the rest of the fleet was waiting. 138 civilian ships containing 186,000 civilians and 55 fleet ships containing 105,000 fleet and station personnel plus the marines. Clements looked at the main view screen and the Dradis, which showed the large fleet he now had under his command.

It was time to implement the second part of Case Omega. The situation demanded a few changes, but for the most part Clements was satisfied with the results so far. There would be time to mourn the dead later. Now he had to turn his attention to the survivors and the rest of Case Omega, as had been planned by Admiral Corman, Admiral Nagala, and himself.

**COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER**

**BATTLESTAR ATLANTIA **

**VIRGON SYSTEM**

Admiral Nagala gritted his teeth as another Battlestar vanished in nuclear fire in the battered Colonial line. The remaining fleet vipers and the squadrons from Virgon were still heavily engaged against thousands of Cylon raiders. It had to be the largest dogfight in Colonial history. Unfortunately, there were numerous Cylon heavy raiders mixed in and these were continuously launching nuclear missiles at the Colonial line. The Battlestar Atlantia rocked as another nuclear warhead made it through her flak screen detonating against her hull. The Atlantia responded launching four Devastator missiles at an approaching Cylon Basestar from her bow tubes. Two missiles struck destroying the Basestar in two massive nuclear explosions. The Atlantia was a Mercury Class Battlestar and she was showing the Cylons why she was the fleet's flagship.

"Damage to frames twenty through eighteen deck seventeen sir," Commander Owens reported checking the damage control board. "We have several decks open to space and a number of fires burning; damage control teams are on the way."

"What about our escorts?" Nagala demanded his eyes examining the operation's table critically. There were a lot of holes in the line where Colonial ships had either been destroyed or put out of action. He was constantly ordering ships to adjust their positions to keep the line from collapsing.

"The Centrus is dead in space," Commander Owens replied shaking his head worriedly. "She took a number of nukes in the last exchange. I don't think anyone got off of her. The New Providence is still off our starboard side but both of her landing bays are wrecked. She has numerous fires raging out of control but she is still fighting. All four of our Escortstars are gone and we have one Defender Class Gunstar still on our port side."

"What about our weapons status?" Nagala demanded continuing to look down at the operation's table, which showed the current position of the Colonial fleet and the advancing Cylon Basestars and Support Ships. For some time now, the two fleets had been exchanging missile fire and the Battlestars had been hitting the Cylon Basestars with their heavy KEW batteries. He knew that he was quickly running out of ships and options.

He heard a loud scream of excitement and turning he smiled grimly as he saw another Cylon Basestar begin to break apart under the fire of the Atlantia's heavy KEW batteries. Ship for ship the Cylon Basestars couldn't stand up to a Battlestar. If not for that fraking Cylon virus, the Cylons could never have attempted this attack.

"We've lost two of our main KEW batteries and twelve of our twin KEW turrets. Missiles are down to 15 percent, our point defenses are down to 22 percent," the weapon's officer replied worriedly. "We have been keeping the flak screen up almost continuously. Some of the gun barrels are starting to over heat from the continuous fire and we are burning through flak ammunition at an alarming rate. I would estimate we have no more then another 20 minutes of flak suppression at the current rate of fire."

"What about vipers?" Nagala pressed knowing that the squadrons had suffered heavy losses. The Cylons were pressing the surviving vipers hard and were close to breaking through their lines. The pilots were fighting bravely and heroically but they were heavily outnumbered and low on ammunition. The break through could come at any moment. When it did, the surviving Colonial ships would be overwhelmed. On the Dradis, green icons representing vipers and raptors were blinking out in ever-increasing numbers and frequency!

"I estimate our fleet has lost 80 percent of our vipers and 90 percent of our raptors, the rest are short on weapons and are making strafing runs on the Cylon ships," Commander Owens reported gravely. "The ground based squadrons have also suffered heavily, they won't last much longer!"

"Virgon reports that their defenses are being overwhelmed by massive waves of Cylon raiders and nuclear explosions are occurring on the surface," Commander Owens continued with his report. "All the PDSs have been destroyed!"

"Sir, I have Admiral Reynolds on line, he is requesting permission to move his fleet forward," the com officer reported.

"Tell Admiral Reynolds to maintain his position," Nagala ordered firmly. The arrival of the survivors of BSG 15 had been a surprise and Admiral Nagala had placed them in the rear of the fleet to help block any Cylon flanking move as well as to protect the gathering civilian fleet to their rear. He had just given the order for the civilians to jump. He also needed to give Admiral Reynolds the coordinates for the rendezvous point of the civilian fleet. He had been hesitant about broadcasting the coordinates over the com, even on the secure channel. In all the confusion of the moment, he felt it might be safe to risk a quick message on Fleet Com Line Alpha. A couple of additional Battlestars would be a welcome sight to Admiral Clements when they reached their final destination.

Just as he was beginning to transmit the coordinates to Admiral Reynolds, the Atlantia shuddered violently sending Nagala to his knees. A large support beam broke loose and crashed to the floor of the CIC. Several consoles exploded in sparks and flame as they were overloaded.

Struggling to stand, he pulled himself back up grasping the edge of the operation's table.

"Three nukes hit the starboard flight pod," Commander Owens breathed coughing from the smoke in the CIC. "We've taken heavy damage to the flight pod and it's out of action. It looks as if the entire bay has lost pressurization and numerous fires are raging in adjoining areas. Casualties are heavy. Damage control teams are on the way!"

Another massive explosion rocked the Atlantia and the ship seemed to roll over on her side.

"What the frak was that?" Nagala demanded picking himself back up from the floor.

"We lost the flight pod completely," Commander Owens stammered not believing the damage his ship had just sustained. "The Tylium bunkers in the bay blew up! We have major fires now throughout the starboard side of the ship. I would strongly recommend you move your flag to another Battlestar!"

In the corridor, Admiral Nagala could hear screams and words of panic.

One glance at the Dradis screen told him the end was near. Moving over to the helm, he adjusted the Atlantia's path and set her on a collision course for five Cylon Basestars that were closing on the Atlantia's position. The young Lieutenant at the helm only nodded in understanding at the course the Admiral had laid in and closed his eyes.

Commander Owens stood silently looking across the CIC at the young men and women who stood or sat at their posts. A few had worried and frightened looks on their faces; several were saying prayers to the God's of Kobol.

Admiral Nagala looked up at the main view screen. The Atlantia might be heavily damaged and most of her weapons now either destroyed or off line but he could still ram one of the approaching Basestars, and that was what he fully intended to do. On the Dradis screen, he could see that the Colonial line was collapsing as the Cylons were starting to overrun it.

Numerous Colonial ships were vanishing from the screen as they died. Others began to move forward with the Atlantia intent on doing as much damage to the Cylons as possible before they too were destroyed. Admiral Nagala wanted to tell them to flee, but he could not. Not only was communication down, but those Commanders had the right to choose how they and their valiant ships were going to die.

Commander Owens stepped over to Nagala's side. "It's been an honor to serve with you sir."

"I'm sorry it had to end this way Jason, you're a good Commander and officer!" Nagala replied looking into Owens eyes. Owens looked back unafraid.

The ship began to shake severely and Admiral Nagala knew the Atlantia was starting to come apart around them. Data screens exploded in showers of sparks and smoke began to fill the CIC. He could hear explosions and screams throughout the ship as the Atlantia began to die. On the Dradis screen, he saw two Colonial Gunstars ram a Cylon Basestar causing it to explode. On one of the other view screens, a burning Battlestar struck a Cylon Support Ship and both vanished in a massive ball of fire. It was the same all up and down the line. This was the end. Nagala looked about the CIC one final time, Admiral Clements it's up to you now, he thought as the Atlantia plowed into a Cylon Basestar and exploded in a massive fire ball that took out the Basestar and heavily damaged two others. Fleet Admiral Nagala and the Atlantia were gone, but they had passed in the finest tradition of the Colonial Fleet!


	7. Chapter 7

**Deep Shelter Base, Caprica**

General Ashton stood in a huge landing bay set in the side of a small indiscreet mountain deep in Crystal Falls World Park. A camouflage field that made the entrance look like the surrounding countryside protected the cavernous bay. The energy used was nearly undetectable and you would literally have to walk through the field to realize what it was. The entrance was located halfway up the side of the mountain making discovery very unlikely.

"That's the last load," Colonel Edwards reported turning to face General Ashton as the final two shuttles entered the crowded bay and sat lightly down. "We were lucky the Cylon Basestars withdrew. We have had nearly six hours to evacuate the base and strip it of supplies and equipment."

"I just wonder what happened," General Ashton replied with questioning eyes as he watched the marines who were unloading the shuttles. They had been able to strip from the base a considerable amount of valuable supplies and equipment. Much more then he could have possibly hoped. "Our deep space communications are out from all the nuclear blasts. We can't get any message out. We received that message earlier about the Basestars withdrawing and then nothing since then."

"We had that partial message from the Caprican Shipyards about an evacuation but we only received a fragment of the message. If they are evacuating, where are they going and did they even manage to get away?" Colonel Edwards asked. "And what about the rest of the fleet?"

An aide came rushing up and handed Colonel Edwards a message.

"We are receiving scattered reports of more missile strikes. The Cylons must be back; whatever caused them to withdraw must be over with," Edwards reported as he scanned the message, his face turning pale with shock. "The fleet has been wiped out! We picked up a message from Virgon Defense Command reporting that the Atlantia and her fleet has been destroyed over Virgon by a massive Cylon invasion fleet. Virgon Defense Command has gone silent, that was their last message."

General Ashton paused as he realized the meaning of the words he had just heard. The fleet was gone, that meant that there was nothing standing between the Cylons and the Colonies. The ground invasion would start soon. "Let's get our people settled; I don't think we can count on our fleet to rescue us now. If any units survived they will be few and on the run," General Ashton said grimly. "It's going to take us days to fully activate this base. The base has a secondary Tylium energizer it's using as its primary source of power right now."

"Will that be enough power for this base?" Colonel Edwards asked worriedly. He knew from his earlier tour that the base was huge and extended down for nearly 20 levels beneath the mountain itself. From what the General had told him, the base was capable of sustaining nearly 25,000 people for nearly five years with the supplies that were on hand. They only had slightly less then 12,000 people that they had managed to evacuate from the marine base.

"Don't worry," General Ashton replied. "In the bottom supply level next to the secondary energizer you will find a huge amount of large crates. They contain a primary energizer from an old Columbia Two Class Battlestar."

"A primary energizer!" Colonel Edwards repeated surprised. "How did you ever get hold of that? Even an older primary energizer he knew would produce a tremendous amount of power. More power then they would probably need, as long as they had the Tylium to power it.

"I had to pull some strings and call in a few favors; needless to say I had to use my family's political pull to get it. A primary energizer from a warship is not sold for civilian use lightly," General Ashton replied soberly. "There is also enough Tylium in the storage bunkers to last for several years. It's going to take us a number of weeks to get it assembled and powered up. Once we do, we can start taking a look around and see just what the Cylons are up to and what we can do to throw a wrench into their plans."

"Then we are going to fight back?" Colonel Edwards asked, he had been wondering about that. He knew that there had to be a lot of panicked survivors scattered all over the planet. No matter how many nukes the Cylons used, the radiation wouldn't reach everywhere. People would be in basements, underground bunkers, caves, and numerous other places temporarily safe from the radiation. At some point and time, they would be coming out. From early reports, the majority of the weapons were very clean or would produce only short-lived radiation. There were even some reports of a number of neutron weapons being used.

"Oh yes," General Ashton replied firmly his gaze hardening. "Once we have secured this base and set up adequate defenses we will begin field operations against the Cylons. This base was designed originally to withstand a heavy Cylon attack. Once we are through, it will be more heavily defended then ever. After all we are marines and this is what we have been trained for."

With that, the two turned and entered a large side corridor that marines and support personnel were currently using to take the supplies they had brought with them down into the base. They had a lot of work ahead of them.

**NEXUS SHIPYARD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CYLON ATTACK**

Colonel Peterson was on duty in the CIC of the Nexus shipyard reviewing their current operational status. The Nexus shipyard was primarily a repair and supply platform used by the Colonial fleet for repairing ships too damaged to make it back to the main shipyards back in the Colonies. Originally three of these shipyards had been requested, but the civilian government had agreed to only one and then only after a lot of pressure from the Admirals of the Colonial fleet. The civilian government had finally approved the construction of one shipyard, but only after the military had agreed to delay several expensive system upgrades for the Battlestars of the fleet.

The shipyard was currently orbiting a large gas giant planet in the Drayus star system. The Drayus system was a small system eight light years from the Colonies containing six planets and a few small moons. Currently the Nexus shipyard was alone in the system except for two Escortstars and a fleet supply ship docked to the station topping off the station's supplies.

The shipyard was nearly four kilometers across not including the central hub. The central hub was 1,500 meters in diameter comprising the main part of the facility. The rest was latticework, storage areas, and repair bays for ships. Two huge bays, one on each side of the yard were large enough for Mercury Class Battlestars to be brought inside and fully enclosed. This allowed repair crews to work in a near Caprica normal environment while conducting repairs. Four other bays, two on each side of the station were smaller and could handle Gunstars or Escortstars. These bays also were capable of being fully enclosed.

The normal operating crew of the station was 4,000 with an additional marine complement of 400. The facility was equipped with numerous twin point defense turrets plus several rapid-fire missile platforms. The station could fire a salvo of eight ship killer missiles simultaneously and be reloaded for a second salvo within thirty seconds. The station was heavily armed primarily for protection against pirates, since the station was such a tempting target for the marauders who were very prevalent in some areas of space around the Colonies. The station also contained four viper squadrons consisting of 20 mark seven vipers each.

"Sir," Lieutenant Hanson the communication officer interrupted from his console where he had been monitoring fleet and civilian traffic over the satellite relay system.

The Colonies and many of the nearby stars had subspace communication relay satellites in orbit to allow fleet as well as civilian ships to remain in constant contact.

"We have a priority message coming in from Fleet Headquarters on Picon," Lieutenant Hanson reported.

Colonel Peterson looked at the communications officer in surprise and then pressed his com unit and heard Admiral Corman's voice. "To all Colonial Units we have a massive Cylon attack underway. I repeat we have a massive Cylon attack underway, this is Admiral Corman Fleet Headquarters Picon."

Peterson sat stunned for a moment. This was the last thing he had expected. There had not been any sign of the Cylons in over forty years! The entire CIC was blanketed in silence. Colonel Peterson reached forward and pressed a switch on his console. "Attention all personnel, we have just received a message from Fleet Headquarters Picon. A major Cylon attack has been launched against our home worlds. Set Condition One throughout the station and be prepared to initiate an FTL jump on my command." A Cylon attack Peterson thought. What the frak had happened?

"Lieutenant Hanson, contact our Escortstars and get them back here pronto." Colonel Peterson ordered. "I want them close in just in case we need their firepower. Also, see if you can pick up anything else on the com channels about this Cylon attack. We need to know just how serious this is!"

Pressing another button, the voice of Captain Lewis the tactical officer responded. "Captain, bring our defensive systems on line and order our viper squadrons readied for immediate launch. We could have a Cylon Basestar down our throats at any moment!"

Red Condition One lights began blinking throughout the station. The CIC crew sat in sudden worry as the full impact of Colonel Peterson's words sunk in. There home worlds were under attack, their families and friends back in the Colonies were in immediate jeopardy and the shipyard could be attacked at any moment. The shipyard would make a very tempting high priority target. Each person in the CIC knew that if the Cylons were aware of the location of the shipyard, and this was a major attack, then it would only be a short time before Cylon warships showed up in the Drayus system.

Colonel Peterson watched as his crew began readying the station to jump. As large as the station was, it would take nearly an hour to get the FTL drives spun up with the necessary energy required. They always kept a series of emergency jump coordinates ready just in case of a major pirate attack, which might require the station to retreat rather then risk substantial damage. Several long minutes passed. Communications was reporting receiving panicked com traffic from civilian as well as some fleet units that had been heavily damaged in the ongoing attack.

"Sir, I have a priority message from the Caprica shipyards with Admiral Clements authorization attached," Lieutenant Hanson reported.

Clements, Colonel Peterson thought worriedly feeling a cold chill run up his back. He was afraid to hear the message the com officer was receiving. If it was from Clements, it could mean several things, one of those he prayed he was wrong about. He just prayed that Admiral Clements was not implementing Case Omega. Surely, the fleet could stop the Cylon attack. Admiral Corman had briefed him on Case Omega when he was given command of the shipyard. He had been surprised to hear the extent of the plan if a major Cylon attack was ever launched against the Colonies.

"Sir we are instructed to implement Case Omega for the survival of the Colonies," Lieutenant Hanson reported looking confused. He had never heard of Case Omega.

Colonel Peterson sat absolutely still for several long moments. Can it really be this bad he wondered? The Colonial fleet was still very powerful even after all the cutbacks. How could the Cylons possibly win? If it were a Case Omega situation, then he and his crew would probably never see their families again, assuming their families were still alive. Case Omega was a worse case scenario based on the total destruction of the home worlds and the fleet! The magnitude of the Cylon attack to force Admiral Clements to implement Case Omega so quickly was frightening and sobering.

"Send back a confirmation on receiving the message. Inform Clements that we are implementing Case Omega." Peterson replied his mind still feeling numb from the implications. His younger brother was serving on the Battlestar Tauri as a viper pilot, he wondered if his brother was still alive or if he would ever see him again.

Peterson stood up and walked over to a small safe in the CIC. Two heavily armed marine guards stood next to the safe one on each side. This safe was never left unguarded. Placing his right palm upon the ID plate, the small safe swung open. Peterson took out a small sheaf of papers and a couple of data disks, which contained his new orders. He quickly found the ones he wanted and placed the remaining papers back in the safe and closed it. He then walked over to the FTL jump console. He handed the FTL operator a data disk, which contained a series of jump coordinates.

"Calculate a jump to these coordinates," Colonel Peterson ordered. "Once you have the proper jump coordinates, transmit them to our Escortstars and the supply ship. There are also a series of emergency jump coordinates listed once we reach that location. Keep the next set of coordinates in the system at all times. We don't know how many jumps we may have to make to stay ahead of the Cylons!"

"Sir," the Dradis operator reported his voice sounding anxious "We have several civilian ships that have just jumped into the system and are inbound toward us."

"They are requesting assistance," Lieutenant Hanson spoke listening to the excited and frightened voices over his com.

Major Reynolds, his second in command looked up at the Dradis, which showed two civilian ships inbound. He had just arrived in the CIC. He had been supervising the unloading of the supply ship. "Refugees from the attack! There may be more behind these, what should we do?"

Peterson thought for a moment. If this indeed was Case Omega, then they needed as many survivors as possible. "Hold the jump; we will give them time to get here. We will delay our jump by one hour to see if any more civilian traffic shows up. Have our Escortstars take up defensive positions around the shipyard; also launch a viper squadron in case they are needed. I want those civilians escorted in by our vipers! Have our other three squadrons on standby."

Two hours later, it was time to go. Peterson was afraid to wait any longer, he had extended his original deadline by an hour. Six civilian ships had jumped into the system, four freighters and two passenger liners. Coordinates had been passed on to them and they were all ready to jump.

A few moments later, the shipyard, the Escortstars, the fleet supply ship, and the six civilian ships vanished as their FTL systems were engaged. The Nexus shipyard had implemented Case Omega. Colonel Peterson was well aware of his orders. He just hoped he found something at the coordinates he was jumping to. He knew that other facilities had the same orders. Hopefully the Cylons hadn't gotten to any of them yet!

He was thankful for the civilian ships that had arrived. Their Captain's reports of the Cylon attack had been frightening; several had jumped from the Caprica system. There was no doubt in his mind from the reports they had delivered, that the Cylons were intent on genocide. It looked like Case Omega was going to be necessary!

**FLEET SUPPLY DEPOT INDRAM**

Major Stiles was making his daily inspection of the fleet supply depot Indram. They were eight light years out from the Colonies. The small fleet supply depot was in orbit around a small nearly airless desert planet in the Hatari star system. There were twelve of these depots positioned outside the Colonies. The Indram was 1,500 hundred meters in diameter and had a crew of 600. It also contained a marine contingent of 80 marines. He was currently on his way to the main Tylium storage bunker as part of his inspection. They were unloading Tylium from a Tylium tanker and he wanted to check on the crew.

The depot was well stocked with supplies, spare parts, and some munitions for fleet units. A few civilian mining ships occasionally stopped by for resupply rather then going back in to the Colonies, Major Stiles suspected a few of these just didn't want to answer questions to the civilian authorities about their operations. They paid for their supplies in cubits and their occasional visits helped break the monotony of the depots normal routine. It also allowed the fleet to keep up with what and where some of the smaller mining companies were operating. As part of the conditions of resupply, the miners allowed the fleet to know the locations of their mining operations and an occasional Escortstar was sent out to check on them. The fleet wanted to make sure the miners didn't endanger the Armistice even though mining anywhere the Redline was strictly prohibited.

A few fleet units stopped by occasionally, mainly Escortstars and every once and awhile a Gunstar. These ships were on routine patrol routes. It was easier for them to get a few supplies at the depot then to enter the more heavily trafficked areas of the Twelve Colonies.

The depot was armed with 60 small twin point defensive turrets and 6 medium size KEW batteries. They also had 16 vipers on board as well as 6 raptors. While it could defend itself if needed, its main protection was the Escortstar Daldon that currently was on patrol in the outer part of the system near one of the large gas giants prevalent in this system. The Daldon could jump back to the depot in a few minutes if the situation warranted. The depot was currently topping off its Tylium storage bunkers from the small Tylium tanker Juno.

He was surprised when he saw communication's officer Lieutenant Mason come running down the corridor toward him. The Lieutenant had a frightened look upon his face as if something had scared him severely!

"Sir we have just received a priority message from Fleet Headquarter Picon. The Cylons have launched a major attack against the Colonies!" the Lieutenants voice quivered as he reported. "We have also received orders from Admiral Clements to implement something called Case Omega for the survival of the Colonies!"

Major Stiles stood stunned for a moment not wanting to believe what he had just heard from the Lieutenant, then his training kicked in. "Order the Daldon to jump back here immediately. Also have the Tylium tanker disconnect but stay with us. We will be jumping shortly. Are there any other ships in range of us?"

"Not that we know of sir," Mason reported wondering what was going on and still feeling scared at the thought of the Cylons returning after all of these years. "Dradis was still clear a few moments ago."

Nearly forty minutes later the Indram Fleet depot vanished as its FTL drive was activated. From the CIC Major Styles wondered just what he would find at the rendezvous point. Other depots and units had similar orders. He just didn't know who or what. Case Omega was a highly classified secret that was known only to those directly involved. Each knew their own particular orders but not those of the others. As he gazed around the CIC, he wondered just what was happening back in the Colonies. Case Omega strictly prohibited any attempt at subspace communications. Perhaps he would find out more at the rendezvous point.

**THE SIDON MINING COLONY**

General Collins sat at his command console aboard the massive Sidon mining colony. He looked about the CIC, which was four times the size of a Mercury Class Battlestars and smiled inwardly to himself. His crew was highly competent and were going about their jobs smoothly and efficiently. The Sidon was currently in orbit around a large red giant star, which possessed a massive asteroid field. The asteroids had never formed into a planet in the star's early years and now they never would. The asteroid field was rich in Tylium deposits and heavy metals. Mineral surveys indicated that there was a fortune in Tylium and heavy metals scattered in the numerous asteroids. This would be a very profitable operation for the colony. They might stay in this system for quite some time conducting mining operations.

General Collins eyes strayed to the myriads of large HD screens that covered the forward wall of the CIC. They were currently monitoring a dozen different mining operations on going in the asteroid belt and the numerous ships going back and forth between them and the Sidon. The Sidon had a large fleet of mining ships, freighters, supply ships, and Tylium tankers at its disposal. The Sidon Mining Company owned all the ships. The only larger mining operation outside the Colonies was Andrea Nagala's in the Caspian system.

The Sidon was huge considering she was FTL jump capable. The Sidon had originally been a large asteroid partially hollowed out by miners during the first Cylon war. Over the years, the mining colonies population had grown larger and the asteroid's rough outer surface had been smoothed down with pulse lasers until all that remained was a cylinder twenty-five kilometers long and nine kilometers wide.

Inside the cylinder, another world existed. A living habitat eighteen kilometers long and five kilometers wide had been hollowed out. Inside was a modern Colonial city with skyscrapers, parks, malls, large recreation centers, and everything else one would expect. At one end of the huge cylinder the refineries, foundries, and smelters for the large mining operation hummed busily. There were also a large number of semi-automated factories, which produced many of the supplies and products to help keep the colony self-sufficient.

At the other end of the huge cylinder the Sidon's military kept a watchful protective eye over the colony. Twenty years previously, a large mining consortium had purchased the Sidon and implemented many of the massive changes, which had modernized the colony. The mining consortium had planned on going into major competition with the Caspian system. Then ten years later the Colonial fleet, under command of Admiral Corman had used the fleet's huge discretionary funds budget to purchase the colony. Retired Colonial military families began to migrate to the colony and the huge military base on one end of the colony had been established. The true nature of the Sidon colony was the best-kept secret in the Colonies.

Eighty massive KEW batteries capable of taking out the largest warship were set into hidden alcoves in the colonies thick outer armor. Forty medium twin KEW turrets were also available if needed. The colony also boasted 32 heavy missile-launching platforms capable of rapid fire. These platforms were dual use, capable of firing either the large ship killer missiles or the smaller interceptor missiles, which could be used to take out inbound fighters. Fourteen hundred twin defensive turrets could destroy any close in threat. All the weapons were hidden by massive hatches, which would slide open if needed. There was also a complete Mark seven viper factory on board. The Sidon had twenty full squadrons of 20 vipers each with ten squadrons capable of being launched simultaneously from the launch tubes. In addition, the colony had six squadrons of Archangel Class Bombers.

In its enclosed ship bays rested four modern Assault Class Gunstars, constructed by the Colonial fleet, these Gunstars had been an older model and due to be decommissioned. The ships had been rerouted to the colony and completely updated. In addition, there were six modern Escortstars, which provided protection for the mining operations from the occasional wayward pirate.

In orbit around the Sidon were six small defensive satellites. These were one hundred meters in diameter and contained a heavy missile battery and two small interceptor missile batteries.

The entire outer hull of the Sidon was covered in thick reactive armor. This could only have been done through the mining operations and foundries that the colony operated. It had taken nearly six years of continuous work to cover the outer surface with the armor. Beneath the armor, nearly two kilometers of dense asteroid protected the enclosed colony. The colony currently boasted a population of slightly over 620,000 civilians and fleet personnel.

People were allowed to leave the colony on business trips and vacations. Everyone was sworn to secrecy and the repercussions of violating that secrecy could result in complete banishment from the colony, which no one wanted to happen. Life aboard the Sidon was just too good! Very few people ever left the Sidon; there just was no reason to.

General Collins was interrupted from his thoughts with the sudden beeping of the com unit on his command console. He normally didn't wear a mini com in his ear unless it was absolutely necessary. He found them to be irritating. Switching the com unit on he said, "This is General Collins."

"Sir," the frantic voice of Captain Niles the senior com officer responded. "We are receiving an emergency message from Fleet Headquarters on Picon. Admiral Corman has ordered all Colonial fleet units to go to Condition One immediately. He reports that a massive Cylon attack has been launched against the Colonies."

"Transfer the message to my console," Collins ordered his eyes opening wide. "A massive Cylon attack," he muttered feeling a cold chill suddenly in the CIC. The Colonial fleet was too powerful, even now after several administrations, which had reduced or delayed construction the fleet still consisted of over one hundred twenty Battlestars, plus Gunstars, and Escortstars. No conceivable attack could possibly succeed!

General Collins listened to the recorded message and felt shock when he heard the worry in Admiral Corman's voice.

"Captain Niles search the fleet subspace channels and see what we can pick up," General Collins ordered wanting to get a better picture of the situation. He wanted to know just what was going on back in the Colonies. Admiral Corman had not gone into any detail about the attack. Collins wondered just why that was, could Fleet Headquarters be under attack?

A few minutes later, the reports began to come in from panicked fleet units describing power failures in some Battlestars and numerous viper squadrons. Collins felt a tightness in his chest knowing that the Cylons had somehow managed to infiltrate some type of virus or command into the command systems, which was destroying the fleet. That was the only possible explanation for the Cylon success that was being reported over the subspace channels. This was a disaster in the making and the fleet might be helpless to prevent it.

General Collins hit the Condition One alert switch on his console while keying up the com system to broadcast to all military personnel on the station and the six Escortstars on guard duty around the mining operations.

"This is General Collins. We have gone to Condition One. We have just received word from Fleet Headquarters Picon that a massive Cylon attack is under way against our home worlds. It is believed that the Cylons have managed to infect some of the systems on our Battlestars and vipers with a computer virus causing them to lose power. The fleet is taking heavy losses with numerous ships being reported destroyed. As of now, we don't know how this has been done but we must assume our systems also may have been compromised. Our first priority must be to check our own systems to see if we have the same security problem. Because of the size of our operation, we can probably expect a Cylon attack here at any time. I will keep you informed as the situation develops."


	8. Chapter 8

General Collins turned to Colonels Ward and Steele who sat at the two auxiliary command consoles, one on each side of him. The two shared executive command of the colony. The colony and its operations were just too big to have only one executive officer. "Colonel Ward, terminate all mining operations immediately. Get the mining ships, freighters, and Tylium tankers back to the Sidon as soon as possible. Also as much of our equipment as we can salvage from the mining operations."

"That will take eight to twelve hours sir," Colonel Ward replied raising an eyebrow at the thought of what the General was asking. "We have a lot of expensive equipment down on some of those asteroids; it's going to take some time."

"Six hours," Collins snapped his eyes narrowing. He knew they didn't have the time to save everything. "Anything that is not back aboard the Sidon by then will have to be left behind."

"Yes sir," Ward replied keying up his console to communicate with the mining operations. He knew they were going to leave a lot of very expensive equipment behind.

"Colonel Steele," General Collins spoke. "Bring all the station's weapons systems on line. I want two squadrons of vipers launched to help cover our mining operations until we can get everyone and everything safely back here. Launch another squadron as a CAP around the Sidon. I don't want the Cylons to catch us by surprise. Have all viper pilots and Archangel pilots on standby. I want another six viper squadrons on standby and ready to launch on command. You are the tactical officer; implement any other actions that you deem necessary. Also be prepared to take over the defense of this station in case of an actual attack."

"Yes sir," Steele replied. Steele had the training and expertise to have commanded a Battlestar, but the offer of coming to the Sidon had been too tempting. Especially after Admiral Nagala had called him in and talked to him personally. He had been amazed when he had arrived at the Sidon and realized just what he would be responsible for. He had more firepower under his control then ten Mercury Class Battlestars.

Colonel Steele keyed up another switch and the voice of Colonel Adams, Commander of the Gunstar group responded. "Colonel Adams, this is Colonel Steele, as you have heard we have gone to a Condition One alert and are expecting an inbound Cylon attack at any time."

"Yes sir," Colonel Adams responded. He had already reached his Command station in the main docking bay, which contained his four Gunstars. He had just been about to order the dock crews to get his Gunstars ready for immediate launch if ordered, when Colonel Steele had contacted him over the com.

"Call in your Gunstar crews and get your ships launched," Colonel Steele commanded. "Put them on station one thousand kilometers out from the mining section of the colony, you may be needed to help protect the civilian mining ships, freighters, and tankers as they return. Also, be prepared in case of a sudden appearance of Cylon Basestars, to put your ships on the opposite side of the station away from the Cylon ships. We may put your ships close to the station. This will keep you off their Dradis screens and keep your presence hidden from them. We may want to hold your ships back as a surprise for the Cylons. They can't possibly know that we have your Gunstars here."

"Yes sir," Adams replied calculating in his head how long it would take to recall his crews and get the Gunstars out of the cavernous docking bay. "We will be on station within forty minutes."

General Collins had listened to Steele pass on his orders; he knew that Colonel Steele was considered to be one of the top strategists in the Colonies. He had ranked number one in his graduating class at the Picon military academy. Many of the fleet Admirals had been highly upset when he resigned his commission and took a job at the supposed mining colony.

General Collins keyed Colonel Galt on his com. Galt was in charge of the station's five massive FTL drives. It took all five drives synchronized in unison to jump the Sidon. "Colonel Galt we need to be prepared to initiate an FTL jump within the next six to eight hours, begin making jump preparations. Due to the large size of the colony and the massive amount of energy required to make a jump it took the jump system nearly two hours to fully charge. If the Cylons showed up before they were ready, they would have a fight on their hands. General Collins was confident of the Sidon's ability to defend herself, but he would rather not reveal those capabilities unless he absolutely had to.

Collins then sent a message to the acting Mayor of the Sidon's enclosed city. Mike Patterson was a retired fleet officer and a very competent politician. "Mike we have a situation here. I am transmitting to you all the data we currently have. To make it brief the Cylons are back and are attacking the Colonies in overwhelming force, our fleet is being decimated, and we can expect an attack here shortly. We are preparing to leave the system as soon as we can get the mining ships and equipment back on board. You need to make preparations with the civilians for an emergency jump and potential damage to the Sidon."

"Holy frak," Patterson replied in surprise. "We have just begun monitoring some of the civilian traffic on our own com systems. It sounds bad General. There are reports of the Colonies being nuked, that some of the Planetary Defense Grids have gone down."

"We are hearing the same thing here from the fleet channels," General Collins replied. He had placed a mini com in his right ear to keep abreast of the developing situation. As much as he hated to use one this situation demanded it.

Mike was silent for a moment. "We will begin making preparations now and I will start moving our people to the underground bunkers. Let me know if there is anything you need."

"Sir," Captain Niles interrupted. "We have a flash message from the Caprican Shipyards, from Admiral Clements. The message is to be delivered to you personally."

General Collins already knew what the message would be. With the situation that was rapidly developing in the Colonies, he had been expecting this communication from Admiral Clements. After listening to the flash message and acknowledging it, he got up and walked over to a wall safe that was guarded by two heavily armed marines. Pressing his right palm against the ID verification panel the safe opened and he took out a sheaf of papers and several data disks. Returning to his console, he handed one of the disks each to Colonels Ward and Steele. "Read over those quickly, we are initiating Case Omega. Those disks will explain what Case Omega is and what our orders are. Case Omega is an emergency evacuation plan for us and other special units of the Colonies. The plan was devised by Admiral's Corman, Nagala, and Clements, make sure you are familiar with it."

Pressing his com, he placed another call to Colonel Galt. "Colonel I am transmitting two sets of jump coordinates to you. One is the primary and the second is a secondary. Recalculate the first based on our current position. When we jump, begin recharging the jump drives immediately. Get these set up as soon as possible."

"Yes sir" Galt responded wondering just what these coordinates meant.

Leaning back General Collins looked up at the banks of view screens, which showed the colony, the star they were orbiting, and the space around them. For the moment they were ready, now all they could do was wait.

On the asteroids, mining ships were already beginning to lift off. Crews shut down mines and hauled out valuable equipment in haste, some equipment was being left behind. Equipment could be rebuilt, human lives could not. Freighters laden with heavy metals and partially full Tylium tankers from the refineries on some of the asteroids began to make their way back to their secure docks on the Sidon. Several Escortstars and a number of vipers took up defensive positions around them.

Nearly four hours passed and General Collins began to hope that they would be able to evacuate and jump away before the Cylons came for them. Rapid progress had been made in shutting down the mining operations, a lot of equipment was being left behind but with the stations manufacturing facilities, it could all be replaced in time. He was speaking to Colonel Steele about the Sidon's defenses when Captain Kline the Dradis officer signaled for his attention.

"We have two Cylon Basestars that have just jumped into orbit with us!" he reported. They had received full descriptions of the Cylon ships over the subspace channels used by the fleet. "They are accompanied by another vessel which must be one of these Support ships we have heard so much about."

Colonel Steele looked at the large Dradis screen, which hung down from the ceiling in front of his console. Three large red threat icons with their associated designations could be seen rapidly closing on the Sidon. Pressing a com switch, he was instantly connected to the launch bay operations chief. "Launch the ready viper squadrons and prepare the next group for launch. I want to take out as many of their raiders as possible away from the station. I don't want any raiders with nukes to get near us!"

On the main view screen, General Collins watched as vipers erupted from the launch tubes. In just a few minutes, six squadrons of 20 vipers each were outbound toward the Cylon Basestars.

Colonel Steele after seeing what they were up against ordered two more viper squadrons to be launched and sent to the mining ships, and freighters, they would need the added protection.

"Steele," General Collins said as he watched the screens. "This battle is now yours, take complete command and I will monitor." Collins knew that Steele had graduated at the top in his class at the war academy on Picon. He was reportedly a wizard at tactics and probably could have been a Battlestar Commander and eventual fleet Admiral if he had stayed with the Colonial fleet. General Collins was more of a marine commander, he could command ground troops with ease, but a space battle was something that he had not been trained for. He knew his shortcomings, that was why he had Colonel Steele.

Steele sent a message to Colonel Adams to move his Gunstars behind the Sidon where the Cylons would not be able to detect them. They would be a surprise to the Cylons as well as how heavily armed this station was. If they had an inkling as to what they were up against, they would have sent more then just three ships. From that position, he could also send the Gunstars to help defend the inbound freighters and other mining ships if necessary.

"Sir," Captain Niles reported as his Dradis screens began showing more red threat icons. "The Cylons are launching raiders. A lot of raiders sir! The Basestars seem to have slowed their approach but are still inbound toward our current position."

"Reserve viper squadrons launching now," Steele reported looking over at General Collins. "We are going to be outnumbered about two to one."

"Begin jamming all Cylon frequencies. I don't want any messages getting out," General Collins ordered. "We need to take this fleet out completely. The true capabilities of this station must remain a secret; it will be our biggest advantage if we expect to survive!"

They watched the huge Dradis screen as the vipers rapidly closed with the inbound raiders. A large number of raiders had broken off and were heading for the inbound mining ships and freighters. The two additional squadrons of vipers that were in route to the civilian ships hit their turbos accelerating quickly to intercept the inbound raiders. In moments, vipers and raiders were engaged in a heated dogfight.

"Raiders are in range of three of our defensive satellites, "Steele reported as he gave orders to his tactical officers. "I am giving the order for launching of interceptor missiles on continuous cycle. I am holding back a ten percent reserve on interceptors on the three satellites. The Basestars are still closing slowly and will be in ship killer missile range in thirty seconds."

General Collins nodded as he listened to Colonel Steele's report.

On the deadly defense satellites small ports slid silently open and dozens of missiles began to launch targeting the inbound raiders. They were programmed with ship ID verifications so vipers would not be hit. Moments later the missiles began to strike their targets. Raiders began to explode in fiery fireballs throughout the Cylon formation. Not all missiles were hitting their targets; the Cylons were managing to intercept nearly 48 percent of them. A few vipers were accidentally blown apart that flew directly into the path of an incoming missile at the last second before the missile could react.

"Basestars in range," Steele said as he ordered the ship killer missile strike. All three defense satellites were targeted on the two Basestars. Steele didn't believe the third ship posed a serious threat to the station. Remote scans had shown it to be only lightly armed. It could be dealt with later.

Larger ports slid open on the defense satellites and six large missiles blasted away on bright fiery pillars of flame as they left each satellite. The missiles were equipped with jamming equipment and advanced ECM to allow penetration of enemy defenses.

"Ship killers launched," Steele reported as he watched his screens. "Second strike set to launch in twenty seconds. The satellites contained two salvos each of the large ship killer missiles. Steele pressed another switch on his console, which put him in touch with the launch bay. "Prepare three squadrons of Archangel Bombers for immediate launch. Wait for my order.

Each squadron will target one of the inbound Cylon ships."

The bombers had been prepped earlier and were each loaded with two ship killer missiles, plus several lighter tactical missiles. The launch crews were now rapidly loading the bombers into their launch tubes.

Near the refinery ships and mining ships, Lieutenant Sarah Wells watched as another Cylon raider fell to her viper's twenty-millimeter cannons. That was her third kill since combat had begun. On her scanner screen a red warning light began to blink." Sidon this is Sidon strike leader she said into her mini com. I am picking up a radiation warning light on my scanners. Some of these raiders are armed with nukes!"

On the Sidon Collins and Steele looked at each other grimly. Nukes were a huge danger to the ships that were still out there. "We read you," Steele replied. "If missiles are launched your first priority must be to take them out."

"Yes sir," replied Lieutenant Wells frowning unhappily. Chasing down fraking nuclear missiles, she thought, that's just great. It was bad enough that Cylon raiders were everywhere.

On the Basestars, three Cylons that looked like humans watched the battle intently.

"This can't just be a mining colony," the Cavil model stated with an angry frown as the defending Colonial vipers blew several more raiders apart.

"None of our agents reported anything like this," the blond six replied looking up at the Dradis screen, which showed a surprising number of Colonial vipers where there should have been none. "They have deployed more vipers then a Battlestar. We also haven't been able to shut down any of their systems. The new CNP equipment and program evidently hasn't been installed on this mining colony!"

"We have never been able to get an agent aboard that mining colony," the Simon model replied as a view screen showed more raiders exploding from inbound missile strikes from those aggravating defense satellites. "We need to take out those missile platforms; they could be a danger to us! This colony must be eliminated. If we don't destroy it, they might escape. They have FTL capability!"

The Basestar shook as a ship killer missile impacted and detonated. Sparks flew in the Command Center and the three Cylons were knocked violently to the floor. A Centurion reported more inbound missiles. There were twelve that had been inbound, only one of the first six had struck, the other five had been blown apart by the Basestars point defense and defending raiders. Already the next six were coming into range.

"Order our raiders to concentrate on those missiles," the Cavil model ordered angrily. "They should not be able to get through our defenses!"

A number of raiders turned to engage the missiles destroying three with their weapons. The Basestar took out another with its limited point defense. However, the other two struck the Basestar, one detonating on the central axis of the ship and the other striking the upper raider bays.

Lights in the Cylon Command Center flickered and went out then came back on. Several Consoles exploded in flame from circuit overloads. A few of the view screens broke loose from the walls and shattered when they hit the floor.

"Take out the missile platforms," the Cavil model grated out angrily speaking to a Centurion. "We can't take any more of these missile strikes!" Looking around at the other human Cylons, he continued. "Why is a mining colony armed with nukes, something is not right here!"

"Don't you think it's a little late for that now!" the Simon model responded. "We have been heavily damaged from those missile strikes! We need to call for reinforcements. We should have targeted those defense satellites with our raiders at the start. Contact our fleet and get more Basestars here, we are going to need them!"

"We can't," the blonde six replied frowning. "All of our subspace communications systems are being jammed. We must prep a heavy raider and send it back for help."

On the Sidon, General Collins watched satisfied. Both the Cylon Basestars had suffered serious damage. The Archangel Bomber strike had been launched and was rapidly closing on the Cylon ships.

"Point defense activated," Steele reported as Cylon raiders began to break through the viper's defensive envelope.

The massive dogfight was gradually getting closer to the Sidon. On the view screens, exploding Cylon raiders and vipers dotted the screens. General Collins knew that Colonial pilots were dying out there. A lot of them!

"We are getting radiation warnings from our scanners, we need to be prepared for nuclear impacts," Colonel Steele warned listening to the viper pilots over his mini com. "Our pilots also report that several Cylon raiders have tried to access their systems. However, they have not been able to. Evidently whatever infected the ships in the Colonies is not in our systems here."

"Thank Kobol for that," Collins replied watching the screens intently. He knew that a lot of good pilots were losing their lives out there to protect the colony.

General Collins used the com system to contact Mike Patterson and warn him about the possible nuclear strike. He wanted to make sure their civilian population was ready. He knew that with the thick reactive armor and protection that the Sidon Colony had it would take a number of very powerful nukes to penetrate. The Cylons had a lot of nukes out there, from what the sensors were reporting, and they were beginning to fire some of those at the station.

Out in space Lieutenant Wells and her wingman were chasing down several Cylon missiles. With satisfaction, she saw one of the missiles explode under her fire and her wingman took out the other. With a rapid turn, she hit her turbos and fired at the raider that had launched the two missiles. The raider blew apart and Wells flew through the disintegrating debris with her wingman close behind. A brilliant flash lit up her cockpit and taking a quick look, she saw a medium size freighter blow apart from a nuke strike. "Frak," she said with anger in her voice. "Sidon this is Lieutenant Wells. They just got a freighter. Some of these fraking Cylon nukes are getting through! There are just too many. Our vipers and the Escortstars are getting most of them but we can't get them all!"

"In bound nukes detected," Steele reported as he listened to all the reports coming in. "Point defense is trying to target them. We have also lost two of the defensive satellites to nuke attacks. The Cylons are trying to take our defensive satellites out."

General Collins nodded; he knew that most of the weapons from those two satellites had been expended anyway.

The Cylons stepped up their attack. Out in space explosions lit up the darkness as raiders and inbound missiles were blown apart by the Sidon's massive point defense. Nevertheless, no defensive firepower in the Colonies could stop all the inbound nukes and missiles. Collins felt the station shudder slightly as two nukes impacted on the thick armor of the Sidon.

"Armor is holding," Steele reported watching the information flash across one of his screens. "No damage indicated."

Out in space the Cylons had targeted the final one of the three defensive satellites closest to them, which blew apart as a nuke hit it. A cloud of vapor and slowly expanding debris was all that was left of the small satellite.

On the Basestar, the three human Cylons looked at each other grimly. That's a fully armed Colonial military station," the blond stated as she scanned the data in the information stream that her hands were in. "That entire station is covered in heavy military armor and point defense. That's the only thing that could have stopped those nukes. None of our viruses have had any affect on it or its ships either."

The Cavil model looked up at the screens his face red with anger. The Colonial vipers had already destroyed many of the raiders. He didn't see how the ones that were left could successfully strike the mining colony.

"We must withdraw and get reinforcements," the Simon model urged. "We can't let this colony escape. This colony is more heavily armed than anything in the Colonies. It could become a threat to us, it must be destroyed!"

"We can't," the blond six replied with some detachment realizing where this was leading. "The FTL systems on both Basestars and the Support Ship have been damaged. We can't leave and even if we could, that colony will jump away. Who knows how long it will take us to find it again. We have to destroy it now!"

"Then launch one of the heavy raiders," the Simon model replied. "They are FTL capable and have the range; they can get a warning back to our people."

"We can't, the launching bays have been too heavily damaged." the blonde Cylon replied her eyes focusing briefly on Cavil then back to the Dradis screen. "We can't get a heavy raider out."

"What about our regular raiders, they have FTL drives," Simon replied.

"Not sufficient range," the blond six replied shaking her head. "The raiders don't have the range to make it back to our other ships in the Colonies."

"If our Basestar is destroyed we will download to the nearest Resurrection ship, we can make our report then," the Cavil model stated confidently. Once they had resurrected, he would lead his brothers back here to destroy this vile human outpost.

"We are to far away from the nearest Resurrection ship," the blonde six spoke turning to look at Cavil accusingly. She had never cared for his line anyway; she just wished she didn't have to die with him. "This mission was rated as a low threat level so one isn't in range for us to download! If our Basestar is destroyed then we will die!"

"We are picking up four Assault Gunstars emerging from behind the station!" Simon said in shock as he looked up and over at Cavil with concen and the fear of impending death growing in his eyes.

"Gunstars!" Cavil exploded his anger boiling over. "What the frak is this place?"

It was at that moment that the Archangel Bombers with their viper escort launched their ship killer missile attack. From close range, the missiles impacted on all three Cylon ships. In moments, massive explosions raced across the ships hulls blowing huge breeches into the intricate insides of the ships.

Inside the Command Basestar, the three human Cylons watched as system after system shut down. Systems exploded in clouds of sparks and smoke began to fill the Command Center.

"We are going to die!" Simon said finally as the information stream faded and went dark.

"Then we will die," the blond six replied as she looked at one of the few screens still working, which showed more inbound missiles. "We underestimated these humans and we will pay the price for that. It will only be a matter of time before our fellow Cylons discover our fate and track down this human colony. They will find them eventually no matter where they try to hide!"

The Gunstars continued to close with the three Cylon ships. Colonel Adams brought his ships up to close range to allow his KEW batteries and missiles to have maximum effect. Most of the weapons on the Basestars had been disabled or destroyed. A few raiders made suicide runs at the Gunstars but the point defense batteries blew them apart before they could strike the Gunstars.

"Fire all weapons," Adams ordered and all four ships fired. The KEW batteries blew massive holes in the three Cylon vessels. At the same time, more missiles impacted the three Cylon ships creating even more damage to the internal structure of the ships. Explosions rolled across all three Cylon vessels.

The Archangel Bombers used the Gunstars attack to place some carefully aimed tactical nuclear missiles inside the huge holes that had been blown in the sides of the Cylon ships by the heavy KEW rounds. In less then a minute the second strike blew all three ships to pieces. Three huge clouds of debris, flame, and exploding ordinance were all that was left of the three Cylon ships.

Colonel Adams ordered the Gunstars to focus on the surviving Cylon raiders with the ships point defense weapons. Cylon raider after raider was blown quickly from space. With their Basestars destroyed, the raiders had nowhere to go and no way to rearm. These raiders were not equipped with long-range FTL drives and could not escape. The Gunstars and the vipers hunted down the remaining Cylon raiders relentlessly.

Less then ten minutes later Lieutenant Wells's viper blew the last Cylon raider apart. The battle was over but she knew that the cost had been heavy. Many of her fellow pilots had seen their vipers blown apart and many had lost their lives.

On the Sidon, General Collins looked over the damage report. They had lost one freighter, a Tylium tanker, two mining ships, and an Escortstar. They had also lost 126 vipers, seven Archangel Bombers and three of the defensive satellites. On the main Dradis screen, a number of emergency beacons could be seen. Hopefully many of the pilots had survived.

Looking at his two subordinates Collins said. "Good job men. Let's get our ships back and our people rescued. It's time for us to leave."

Two hours later the Sidon, the Gunstars, and the Escortstars vanished as they activated their FTL drives. General Collins wondered just what they would find at the rendezvous point. He knew what was supposed to be there. He just hoped everyone else had made it. However, after the heavy attack the Sidon had just survived he felt very apprehensive.

**THE SURVIVORS**

**DAY TWO – DAY SEVEN **

The Sidon mining colony flashed into existence around a small white dwarf star six light years from the Colonies. General Collins felt his stomach complain from the queasiness associated with an FTL jump. The Sidon normally averaged two to four FTL jumps per year as the mining colony moved to various potential mining locations. He looked around the CIC and noticed that a number of his people looked slightly pale. An FTL jump was something you never got used to no matter how many times you experienced it. He also suspected that part of the paleness was due to the Cylon attack upon the Sidon as well as back on their home worlds.

Collins flipped on his com to Colonel Galt. "I am transmitting to you a second primary jump coordinate. Start powering up the FTL system; we will jump again as soon as we have the power."

Collins knew that if the Cylon Basestars had managed to get off a message, more Cylon ships would be on the way. Not finding them at their previous location, they would fan out searching for the Sidon. They would be a prime target, especially after what they had done to the Cylon ships that had attacked them. Hopefully, they had succeeded in jamming any Cylon transmission but he did not want to take the risk. The more distance they could put between the Cylons, the Colonies, and their former location the better he would feel. He didn't like it that this particular jump had brought them closer to the Colonies. However, this was one of the rendezvous points set in Case Omega.

"That quick," Colonel Steele said looking over at the General. "The civilians won't be happy about that." The civilians never cared for FTL jumps, many of them would be sick if they did a number of them in rapid succession. Steele wouldn't blame them for being upset, but he also knew that most of the civilians in the colony would be all right. They were good people.

"It's better then waiting for the Cylons, we have to stay ahead of them, and we are still too close to the Colonies," General Collins replied knowing the jumps wouldn't be a problem for the military. However, Colonel Steele was correct. The civilians were used to only a few jumps per year, not several in one day. Before all this was over, they would have a number of very ill civilians on the Sidon.

"I will contact the Mayor and let him know what's going on," Collins said after thinking for a minute. "If need be they can issue some meds to get the worst cases through the jumps."

"What do you think the Cylons will do next?" Steele continued as his eyes wandered toward the large Dradis screen, which was just beginning to clear of static from the jump. He expected to see their accompanying Gunstars and the Escortstars hovering protectively around the Sidon.

"As soon as the Cylons are finished with the Colonies you can bet they will be fanning out across all the nearby star systems looking for fleeing civilians or surviving fleet units," General Collins stated looking up at one of the large HD screens that suddenly cleared of static and was beginning to show one of their Gunstars. "The Cylons want to wipe us out, this is genocide. Either we survive or the Cylons, it won't be both of us, not this time!"

"Sir we have several large contacts on the Dradis, they read Colonial fleet." Captain Kline reported with surprise on his face. He wondered what Colonial units could possibly be out here. He had thought the Sidon would be in this system by itself with their escorts.

"Good," Collins said breathing a sigh of relief, at least part of the fleet units he was supposed to rendezvous with at this jump point were here. "Establish communication with the units and see who they are!"

A few minutes latter General Collins felt reassured. All four-supply depots and the Nexus shipyard were present. It gave him an additional six Escortstars to add to the five he already had, plus the four Gunstars. Add that to the viper squadrons on the Sidon and he had a fairly powerful force to defend his command with. The shipyard also packed a lot of additional firepower and had four viper squadrons. He ordered Colonel Steele to have the warships set up a perimeter defense while they waited for the Sidon's FTL units to recharge. He was also pleasantly surprised to see the small group of civilian ships that had jumped with the group. He counted twelve civilian ships of various classes on the Dradis.

"Colonel Steele, launch two viper squadrons to set up a CAP," General Collins ordered. "You are in charge of over all fleet defense, do what you need to do. I will notify the other Colonial units that you are in charge of military operations." Also, warn all ship Commanders to expect more civilian ships to be jumping into the system. There must be civilian ships jumping everywhere trying to flee the Colonies. Escort any civilian ships that jump into the system back to us, we will take them along."

"Yes sir," Steele replied hitting his com button that placed him in communication with the flight deck. He quickly ordered two squadrons launched with another four placed on readiness. The pilot's of the four squadrons on flight readiness would be waiting in the pilot's room where they would be comfortable but close to their vipers. The Escortstars and Gunstars he placed around the fleet periphery. With four Gunstars and eleven Escortstars, they should be able to handle a Cylon Basestar without needing the Sidon's weapons or vipers.

Colonel Ward was still busy getting all the freighters, refinery ships, mining ships, and other ships unloaded and their cargo safely stored. They had evacuated so quickly that it would take some time to get everything organized.

In the launch tube, Lieutenant Sarah Wells felt herself pressed back into her acceleration seat as her viper blasted out of the tube. She quickly orientated herself and moved her viper away from the station as her wingman Lieutenant Mathew Geller placed himself just off her right wing. The rest of her squadron followed, staying in formation and flying in groups of two.

"Did you hear about the Colonies?" Geller spoke to Sarah on their ship-to-ship com so the station could not hear them. "They say the Cylons have wiped them out, the fleet too!"

"Fraking Cylons!" Sarah replied with anguish in her voice, she had heard the same rumors. Her mind had been filled with worry and concern ever since the attack on the Sidon.

Her parents were trapped on Picon and her older brother David was stationed on the Fleet Gunstar Triffid, her younger sister, who was only fifteen, was away at school on Picon. Sarah and her sister Kathryn were very close; it was all she could do to hold back the tears. If the fleet was indeed destroyed, she wondered if there was any chance that her brother and his ship had escaped.

"We don't know for sure what has happened," she said trying to keep it together. "General Collins has told us that the Cylons have launched a major attack against the Colonies and the fleet. Surely there will be a lot of survivors!" Sarah knew she was only trying to reassure herself that her family might still be alive. But what else could she do?

"From the com traffic we have intercepted it looks like the Colonies are losing and losing badly," Mathew replied knowing where Sarah's family was. "My parents are on Virgon, I hope they're OK."

"So do I. I hope both of our families are alright," Sarah replied as she made a slow circle around the massive fleet shipyard. She had split her squadron up into groups of four so they could patrol their share of the space around the Colonial vessels. The other two vipers in her section were slightly behind and below Sarah's viper.

The shipyard seemed huge in her cockpit window blocking out the stars. She knew that when compared to the massive fleet shipyards in the Colonies, this shipyard was quite small. Just having it here was comforting somehow. Close by she could see two fleet Escortstars off in the distance holding a protective position on the far side of the shipyard. Other fleet units were scattered about including the Sidon's four Assault Gunstars.

"I wonder why these fleet units are here. The four supply depots and the mobile shipyard," Geller spoke over the com as he gazed curiously at one of the 1,500 meter supply depots.

"It almost looks like this was a planned evacuation," Sarah replied thoughtfully. "I'm glad they're here, at least we're not alone. They brought half a dozen fleet Escortstars with them. At least that gives us a reasonable fleet with the five we have left and our four Gunstars."

Two hours later Sarah's squadron landed back on board the Sidon. She had barely stepped out of her viper when she felt the colonies FTL drives activate.

In the busy CIC, General Collins watched as the Dradis and view screens switched to all static from the power surge. Then he felt the familiar queasiness associated with an FTL jump. What seemed like a fraction of a second later the queasiness vanished and the screens began to clear back up.

"No contact on Dradis and all fleet units are present," Captain Kline reported as he checked the data from his screens.

Colonel Steele spoke briefly to the escorting warships making sure they were staying alert. He didn't want a Cylon Basestar to jump in on top of them and catch the escort ships unprepared. The escorts now had standing orders to take out any Cylon ship that jumped within 10,000 kilometers of the Sidon and the other fleet units.

Colonel Ward had left the CIC to go to the far end of the Sidon to check on the mining and refinery operations. He wanted to check first hand to insure that the civilians had everything secured in case the Sidon was attacked. He already had marines stationed throughout the mining operational end of the station. The marines were there not to keep the civilians under control, but to insure that the area was kept secure in case Cylon Centurions boarded them. There was a lot of Tylium as well as other dangerous materials that could make a very large explosion stored in that area. He wanted to make sure it was secure as well as under heavy guard.

General Collins allowed himself to relax for a moment as he gazed about the CIC. Everyone was doing their jobs and no one seemed to be panicking about the situation they currently found themselves in. They had a long way to go and it would take them almost a week to get to their destination. General Collins knew that each jump now would take a little longer. Due to the enormous size and mass of the Sidon, they would have to start fine-tuning the drive systems after each jump. It was very difficult, even with modern computers, to insure that all five jump drives were in precise synchronization. If even one was off by a fraction, it could result in a miss jump and leave the Sidon separated from the other fleet units. That meant a maximum of two jumps per day and those of only a few light years.

They would have to be extremely vigilant. They would also continue to be on the lookout for any civilian ships that they might encounter along the way. They had picked up two more while they waited for the Sidon's FTL drives to charge in the previous system. General Collins planned to send out some of the Escortstars to nearby star systems to look for survivors while they were waiting on the Sidon's FTL drives to charge. Hopefully before they arrived at their destination, they would find a few more civilian or even fleet ships.

He had already spoken with Mayor Mike Patterson explaining that they were going to a secret rendezvous point to meet up with other survivors and units of the fleet. Mike seemed satisfied with that answer. He had commented that they had noticed the additional fleet units that had shown up.

General Collins wondered how many, or if any heavy fleet units had managed to survive? He hoped that Admiral Clements would make it to the final rendezvous point. While he could complete the mission, Clements was more qualified. He knew that Admiral Clements had the best chance of arriving with any surviving fleet units as well as the largest number of civilians from the Colonies. General Collins felt more secure with the fleet units that he currently had, but some heavier warships would be nice. Especially a couple of Battlestars! With the small jumps they had to make, it was very likely they would encounter the Cylons somewhere along the way.


	9. Chapter 9

**ADMIRAL CLEMENTS**

**FIRST REANDEVOUZ POINT**

Admiral Clements swayed slightly as the Battlestar Caprica materialized in a flash of white light in the midst of the fleet. In moments, the Dradis screen cleared and seemed to be covered with a myriad of contacts. Numerous civilian Captains were filling the communication channels with frantic questions. Where were they and where were they going? Everyone wanted to talk and ask questions at the same time.

"All ships present sir," Captain Beck the Dradis operator reported as the Dradis computer rapidly identified all the contacts.

Admiral Clements ordered all ships to go to communications silence so the Cylons could not locate them from all the useless chatter. He told the Captains briefly that they were being taken somewhere safe and he could not and would not elaborate any further. If anyone couldn't handle that, they would be left behind. The communications channels instantly became quiet.

"Major Adams have all the ships prepare for a second jump, we will be sending them the next set of jump coordinates shortly," Clements ordered as he turned his attention to Lieutenant Ash who was sitting at communications.

"Get me Admiral Stockwell on Fleet Com Line Alpha," Admiral Clements spoke watching the view screens located at the front of the CIC as they came on one by one showing numerous ships. They had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. At any moment, the Cylons could show up and put this fleet in jeopardy. He had a special mission planned for Admiral Stockwell and it had to be carried out quickly.

"Admiral Clements," Admiral Stockwell's calm voice came over Fleet Com Line Alpha. "We seem to have escaped the Cylons for the moment, what are your orders sir?"

"I have a special mission for you Admiral," Clements began, recalling what had occurred over the past six hours. "We know that there were at least two major fleet battles back in the Colonies. Over Virgon, and near Scorpia. I want you to take the Picon back to the Colonies along with two fleet personnel carriers and the Marine Transport Vengeance."

"Back to the Colonies!" Admiral Stockwell interrupted with surprise in his voice.

"Yes Admiral, there are some valuable assets I want you to try to recover," Clements continued knowing that what he was about to ask would be very difficult and dangerous. "All three of those ships have FTL shuttles capable of rescuing stranded fleet personnel as well as your own shuttles and raptors aboard the Picon."

"Then this is a rescue mission," Stockwell replied with relief. He knew that a lot of people had been left stranded in the Colonies. But he also knew that the ships Clements was assigning him would not hold that many people, just a few thousand.

"I want you to coordinate the rescue of as many fleet personnel as possible," Clements said carefully so the Admiral would not misunderstand. "There will be a lot of pilots in damaged vipers with rescue beacons on. They only have twelve hours of life support. Many of them will have much less then that by now. Check the damaged fleet units at the battle scenes for trapped survivors, there are bound to be some crew members trapped in the damaged ships."

"What if we encounter the Cylons?" Stockwell asked concerned. "They are bound to be doing the same thing we will be, only they will be killing the survivors instead of attempting rescues!"

"Possibly not," Clements replied. "They may just ignore any stranded survivors, figuring that when their life support runs out that problem will take care of itself. You are not to engage the Cylons with your Battlestar or vipers. You may arm your raptors that are on rescue missions with interceptor missiles. They are to engage Cylon raiders only as a last resort; we must maintain the secret that your Battlestar Group escaped."

"I understand sir," Admiral Stockwell replied sounding disappointed wishing he could hit the Cylons with his Battlestar Group, but he knew that Admiral Clements was correct. If the Cylons knew his force had survived they would be out searching for it in mass.

"The Cylons probably believe they have wiped out all of our major fleet units and it is to our benefit to continue to let them think so," Clements continued. "I will give you twenty-four hours in the Colonies to complete your mission. The Cylons will be occupied with the Colonies and outposts in the home systems so stay away from them with your ships. You have a narrow window to try this rescue. If you detect a heavy Cylon presence, you are to withdraw immediately. You are not to endanger your task group!"

"Yes sir," Admiral Stockwell replied still wishing there was some way he could strike back at the Cylons. "I would love to hit those Cylon scum with my Battle Group but I also understand the need for secrecy for the moment. I realize that protecting these civilians and rescuing as many fleet personnel as possible has to be our first priority. Hitting the Cylons will come later I assume."

"Good," Admiral Clements replied, he knew that Admiral Stockwell was considered to be a top Admiral; he also had a reputation for following orders. "I want you to meet us at the Boneyards in two days. Yes, we will eventually hit the Cylons. We will make them pay for what they did to the Colonies, but we have a lot of work and preparation to do before that."

"The Boneyards," Admiral Stockwell replied surprised. "Why there? The only thing at that place is a lot of old decommissioned ships. There is no way we will be given the time needed to place any of those ships in operating condition before the Cylons hit it, if they haven't already. It's only a matter of time, and probably a very short time before they hit all the outlying outposts!"

"You may be surprised Admiral," Clements replied with an inward smile from knowledge he possessed that Stockwell did not. "The ships at the Boneyards may not be quite as decommissioned as everyone has been led to believe."

"You mean we might be able to salvage some more warships!" Stockwell spoke back in surprise with a hint of excitement growing in his voice. "Even a few old cruisers would go a long ways."

"We will need all the fleet personnel you can find," Clements replied not elaborating on what might be waiting at the Boneyards. "The Boneyards are enclosed by a heavy radiation cloud that is deadly to the Cylons, I doubt they have hit it yet. They probably believe that it's not a threat to them since it supposedly contains only older decommissioned ships. They will probably wait until the Colonies and the outlying outposts have been destroyed before they check on the Boneyards. So hopefully we will have some time."

"Very well Admiral," Stockwell replied slightly confused about the Boneyards wondering just what Clements had up his sleeve. He had never been out that far. The Boneyards were located near the outside edge of the star cluster. "I will inform the rest of the fleet units under my command that they have been transferred to the Caprica."

Clements hesitated a moment before continuing. "Admiral I don't know quite how to say this but my son was the CAG on Commander Cain's Pegasus. Admiral Nagala told me the Pegasus was destroyed with Admiral Davidson's fleet at Scorpia. If you see the Pegasus…"

"I understand Admiral," Stockwell replied solemnly. "You wouldn't be a father if you didn't want to know the fate of your son. If we see the remains of the Pegasus we will check."

"I don't want anyone put in extra danger because of this," Clements continued. "I know that everyone has lost someone today. As soon as you jump back send a raptor to Ragnar Anchorage and see if you can contact the Galactica. If she is still there bring Adama and whatever ships he has back with you."

Forty minutes later the Picon and the three fleet ships assigned vanished as they activated their FTL drives and headed back to the Colonies. Clements watched from the Caprica hoping they would be successful in their mission and return safely. The Picon was his only Mercury Class Battlestar and he could ill afford to lose her at this point. However if they returned with the Galactica it would well be worth the risk.

He knew that time was very short for all that needed to be accomplished. It all depended on just how occupied the Cylons were with the Colonies. If their main fleet was still hitting the home worlds, then Admiral Stockwell might have the time he needed. The Cylons would have a lot of targets in the home systems. There were the Twelve Colonies, several inhabited moons, numerous military bases, small mining colonies, and scientific outposts on many of the smaller asteroids. Raptors and shuttles just might be able to slip in and commence some rescues of stranded Colonial fleet personnel.

The Cylons would have a lot of work to do in order to eliminate the Twelve Colonies, Clements hated to think of all the lives that were being lost back home. Fifty billion people and the Cylons were using 50-megaton nukes to wipe them out! While the nukes couldn't take out everyone, the radiation and the Cylon Centurions would make short work of the survivors. In just a few days, most of the people in the Colonies would be dead or dying. Clements felt guilty for having left so many behind, but he had his orders and the survival of the human race might very well rest on his shoulders.

Two hours later Admiral Clements had divided the fleet up. All the civilian ships, most of the fleet vessels, under escort of the Battlestar Cimitar and the five fleet Gunstars vanished in an FTL jump. They had a set of coordinates and a destination to be at in one week's time. Hopefully they would arrive safely. They were jumping away from the Colonies and away from where heavy Cylon traffic could be expected. The sixth Gunstar was ordered to jump to the coordinates of the civilian ships that Admiral Nagala had supposedly sent away to safety. They also had orders to be at the rendezvous coordinates in one week.

Admiral Clements then sent six Escortstars out on a separate mission. Each ship had been given a group of star systems near the Colonies to search for fleeing civilian ships. They also had a series of small research and mining facilities in outlying star systems to evacuate if the Cylons had not already hit them. Admiral Clements knew that most civilian ships possessed FTL drives and there was no doubt in his mind that as soon as their Captains realized that fleeing was their only option, there would be a massive exodus of civilian ships from the Twelve Colonies.

One of the Escortstars had orders to jump to the Caspian system and check on survivors there. Clements knew that Admiral Nagala's daughter Andrea was in charge of the huge mining operation in that system. She would have a lot of ships available to her for evacuating her people. Clements knew there were over two hundred thousand people in that system. He also knew that it would probably have been a high priority target for the Cylons.

Two other Escortstars, one fleet personnel carrier, and two empty fleet supply vessels were sent to check on the other fleet supply stations. If any survived they were to evacuate them and off load as many supplies as possible. All ships had the rendezvous coordinates for one week hence.

Admiral Clements had the Battlestar Caprica, the two Columbia Two Class training Battlestars the Altair and Spica, and two fleet personnel carriers containing the fleet personnel that were in transit on the Caprican shipyards when the Cylon attack occurred. He also took an additional two fleet personnel carriers that contained key shipyard personnel; many of these would be useful at the Boneyards since most of them had fleet experience to some degree from serving stints on various fleet ships.

"Are we ready to jump," Admiral Clements asked turning his attention to Commander Talon.

"Yes sir, all the other ships have made their jumps," Commander Talon responded. "We have the coordinates for the Boneyards set. It will take us four jumps to get there. With standard FTL prep we can be there in a little over eight hours."

"Very well, Commander. Initiate the first jump," Clements ordered as his gaze returned to the now nearly empty Dradis screen.

A few moments later the Battlestar Caprica and her group of ships vanished.

Eight hours later the Caprica and her group of ships were floating in the clear space around the Boneyards. The Boneyards were hidden in a gaseous nebula, which was permeated with the deadly radiation that Cylons could not take. A globe of small satellites surrounding the Boneyards emitted a weak energy field that held the gas and radiation back and created a clear space nearly 15 million kilometers across.

In this empty space floated the Boneyards. A massive shipyard sat in the center of the clear area surrounded by hundreds of decommissioned fleet units. The decommissioning shipyard was twelve kilometers across, built around a central hub 2,000 meters in diameter. 7,500 fleet personnel and 400 marines comprised the station's crew. The station was armed with numerous point defense batteries as well as a large number of medium sized twin KEW turrets. In addition, there were four squadrons of mark seven vipers in two launching bays located beneath the shipyard. There were also eight 200 meter defensive satellites in close protective orbit.

Admiral Clements, Commander Talon, Major Adams, and Major Davidson who was responsible for the fifth year cadets aboard the two training Battlestars, were in the CIC of the Boneyards. They were meeting with Admiral Brad Anders who was in charge of the massive shipyard and its extensive facilities. Admiral Anders had been in charge of the shipyard for nearly ten years and was a dedicated commander. He had attended the service academy with Admiral Corman when he had been a cadet. He had hoped to continue in this position until he was ready to retire. Being a close and trusted friend of Admiral Corman had gotten him this assignment.

"I can't believe that the Cylons have succeeded. I know that Admiral Corman and Admiral Nagala had warned the government about this for years. Especially after all the warships that have been decommissioned, and the delayed Battlestar construction programs of the last several Colonial Administrations," Admiral Anders said quietly his face ashen looking at the men surrounding him.

"We all hoped it would never happen," Admiral Clements replied knowing that their news of the fall of the Colonies had been a shock to the older Admiral.

"My family was taking a vacation on Caprica at the time of the attack," Anders spoke slowly with a pained look in his eyes. "My wife, along with my two daughters, and all four of my grandchildren were there. From what you have told me, there is no way of knowing what may have happened to them! A lot of my shipyard crew are going to have the same questions. Is there anything we can do? Can we mount any type of rescue operation to check on our families? It sounds like the Colonies are finished!"

"We are protecting a lot of civilians and there were some plans made for just this type of disaster. We have all lost family members. My own wife was in Caprica City and we know that it was hit with two fifty-Megaton nukes," Admiral Clements replied trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. He would like nothing more then to send a rescue mission to Caprica to search for his family and others, but he knew that it couldn't be done. They all had a lot of grieving to do, but for now, it would have to wait. The survival of the human race had to take top priority. There would be a time for grieving later.

"I know that Admiral Corman asked you to keep some fleet units ready for quick activation and that they were not to be decommissioned," Admiral Clements spoke seeing the surprised look on the faces of the rest of the group at this revelation. "I need to know what you have that is capable of being put back into operation in the next forty-eight hours. That's the maximum amount of time I believe we have before the Cylons show up. They can't leave this shipyard alone for long."

Admiral Anders smiled. "At least that part of my orders I followed to the letter. While I never believed the Cylons could actually succeed in attacking the Colonies, I always thought we were taking too many ships out of service."

Walking over to a bank of view screens Admiral Anders pressed several buttons. On the screen several large ships appeared. "This is a Firestar Class Battle Cruiser. The last of these were taken out of service only six years ago. We have 61 of these at the Boneyards. Adar and the previous administration wanted them decommissioned because they felt they were too expensive to operate. They wanted to construct more of the smaller Gunstars and Escortstars to fill in for their absence. "

"They did have more Gunstars built and quite a few Escortstars, but they don't measure up to the firepower the Firestars represented." Commander Talon commented as he gazed wistfully at the ships on the screen. "My first posting was aboard a Firestar. They were a good ship!"

"The Firestar is almost as large as the old Columbia Class Battlestars," Admiral Anders continued. "They have more firepower and the Class Two Firestars have a flight pod beneath the ship that can hold a full squadron of vipers plus support craft. Then there are the Warstars," he pointed to the other screen. "They don't have a flight pod but are equipped with more missile launching tubes and heavy KEW batteries instead. The administration before Adar's retired all 28 of those."

"How many are still operational?" Admiral Clements asked hoping that more then a few were. He knew some of the orders that Corman had issued but he didn't know how much had actually been accomplished. It had been several years since he had made a tour of the shipyard. He had also issued Admiral Anders some special orders of his own.

"We don't have the facilities to keep all the ships operational," Admiral Anders replied shaking his head sadly. "As a matter of fact we have stripped a lot of the older Firestars and Warstars of most of their parts and weapons. We currently have 14 of the Class Two Firestars and 10 Warstars that can be activated almost immediately. They have been updated as much as possible and we have even installed heavier armor and additional point defense per Admiral Corman's orders.

"We have had access to some very good military engineering and defense design teams to help with the update," Admiral Anders added with a slight all knowing smile. "Have you ever heard of Professor Ravashol? He is one of the most brilliant minds of our generation in the area of physics and applied laser technology. Matter of fact Admiral Corman assigned a top-notch military tech team to the Boneyards to help update some of the ships. Professor Ravashol is heading that team. As a result, the ships are much more powerful now then when they were originally constructed. All 24 of the ships currently have small maintenance crews on board with the secondary energizers on line operating under minimum power. We have been keeping minimum power on primarily to maintain life support and to run routine system checks."

"Twenty four operational warships," Major Davidson commented in surprise feeling amazed at what he was hearing. "How was this kept a secret? Adar's administration would have gone ballistic if they had known about this!"

"The crew of this shipyard serves very long stints of four to six years for a very high pay rate," Admiral Clements began to explain. "They have been very carefully chosen and all have signed high security agreements where they don't discuss what happens here. Also inspections have been very limited and Admiral Corman pretty well controlled who handled those."

Admiral Anders continued. "Because of our distance from the Colonies politicians don't make an appearance usually. The few that have were specially picked by Admiral Corman and shared our views on the fleet."

"I am confused as to why these decommissioning yards were placed so far from the Colonies in the first place," Major Davidson broke in with a frown on his face. "Why weren't they put closer to the Colonies or even around one of the uninhabited moons?"

"For security reasons," Admiral Clements responded. "The government didn't want a lot of military hardware lying around where a rogue planetary government or even a dissident group could get hold of it. With the fleets urging they agreed to set up the main decommissioning yards out here on the edge of the cluster. Far enough away so the ships would never be a threat to the Colonies and under secure control of the fleet."

"What about additional Battlestars?" Commander Talon asked after listening to Admiral Clements explanation. "I like the Firestars and especially the Warstars but more Battlestars would be nice. Being able to hit the Cylons with heavy viper strikes will be a necessity if we ever expect to be able to carry this war back to them. Particularly after what we heard of their tactics back in the Colonies. Their Basestars reportedly can put nearly 300 raiders each into combat and this new Support Ship of theirs supposedly even more!"

Admiral Anders looked at Admiral Clements questioningly. Clements knew about some of what had been done here, since he was responsible for all shipyards and bases but not everything. He had known work was being done on some of the Firestars and Warstars but not to this extent. He had been very surprised to see how many were operational. "Show them the Columbia Two Battlestars Admiral," Clements ordered with a nod, these were something that Admiral Clements himself had specifically ordered Admiral Anders to do.

Admiral Anders pressed another button on his console and the main screen switched to a huge heavily armed Battlestar floating on the screen. "This is a Columbia Two Class Battlestar. As you know, they were used toward the end of the first Cylon war. After the war, the Colonies built fourteen more of these ships. All of them except six were retired about eighteen to twenty years ago. I noticed that you brought two of them with you today Admiral. As you know they are larger then the old Columbia Class and can carry six squadrons of vipers."

We have used a lot of the parts and equipment off of the stripped down Firestars and Warstars to reequip and modernize six of these Battlestars," Admiral Anders explained as he manipulated one of the view screens giving them a close up of one of the Columbia Two Battlestars.

"Six of them!" Commander Talon exclaimed with an excited look spreading across his face.

"Yes, six of them," Admiral Anders nodded. "Their biggest weakness was a lack of point defense and heavy offensive weapons. We installed an additional secondary energizer on the ships and increased their point defensive weapons by 32 percent and their heavy offensive weapons by 22 percent. We didn't have any of the new Mark seven vipers to fill their bays but we did have a lot of the old Mark two's. All six currently have small crews on board with one of the secondary energizers fully powered. The crews only consist of about 50 personnel but that is sufficient to run system checks and to keep the ships ready to be put back into operation at a very short notice."

"Excellent," Clements said smiling pleased that the Columbia Two Battlestars were completely ready. "Major Davidson, I want you to transfer enough of your cadets to those six Battlestars to bring them back on line. I estimate it will take about a 1,000 cadets each. We will send some senior officers and additional experienced fleet personnel along to insure that the cadets receive proper guidance and supervision. Can your cadets handle that?"

"Yes sir," Major Davidson replied thrilled that they would have a use for his cadets. They were well trained and very familiar with the systems of a Columbia Two Class Battlestar. This would work out ideally for them. "The cadets are very familiar with the systems on the two training Battlestars as well as the other units of the fleet they have been training on. We can do it sir. But what about the rest of the cadets? Do you want them assigned to the Firestars and Warstars?"

Admiral Clements smiled. "No what we are about to show you is the fleet's biggest secret. The one thing that if it had ever been discovered could have blown this entire plan of Admiral Corman, Admiral Nagala, and myself out of the water. We would all probably have ended up being court marshaled and then airlocked. Admiral Anders, show them the AURORA!"

Admiral Anders adjusted the view screen and three very large Battlestars appeared on the screen. Two were obviously Jupiter Class Battlestars but the third was a monster. It was much larger then a Mercury Class Battlestar and literally bristled with weapons.

"The Aurora!" Major Adams said stunned his eyes widening, everyone else stood quietly literally in shock and awe at what was on the screen. "She was the prototype of the new Nova Class Battlestars. She was completed four years ago, but there were so many cost overruns that she ended up costing twice as much as originally proposed. Then on her shakedown cruise, the Aurora suffered numerous system malfunctions. On the final leg of her trials as she was returning to the Scorpion shipyards, there was an explosion in her secondary energizer causing severe damage to the ship. Nearly two hundred crewmembers were killed. The Colonial Government launched an investigation and they decided she was just too big, overly complicated, and to expensive to repair. She was ordered decommissioned and a smaller Nova Class slightly larger then a Mercury was ordered to be constructed instead."

"That's correct Major Adams," Admiral Clements said looking at the screen with interest as he examined the Aurora. "Admiral Corman had the Aurora brought here and for the last four years Admiral Anders and his people have been working to repair the ship and correct all the malfunctions in her systems."

"She was supposed to be the Fleet Command Ship," Commander Talon spoke softly as he gazed appreciatively at the massive ship on the view screen.

"That's right Commander," Clements responded nodding. "The Aurora had been originally envisioned to be the flagship for the entire Colonial fleet. From her CIC the movement and operation of the entire fleet would be monitored and directed. That is what the Atlantia has been doing for several years, but the systems on the Aurora were designed to be far more efficient. Her CIC is nearly four times the size of the Atlantia's."

"We have been working around the clock for nearly all of those four years on her," Admiral Anders said thinking about all the long hours his people had put in getting the ship ready. "It was necessary to remove some of her systems completely. They were just too complicated and continuously malfunctioned or shut down, it was almost as if they were designed to be so overly complicated that they would fail."

"But why design a system so complicated?" Major Davidson asked looking around at the group.

"After this Cylon attack, I just wonder if the Cylons somehow didn't manage to create some of the problems with the Aurora's systems," Admiral Anders commented. "When we rebuilt her secondary energizer, we replaced it with another primary energizer and shifted the secondary energizer to another section of the ship. The Aurora currently has four primary Tylium fusion energizers and two secondary."

Admiral Anders paused for a moment hesitating not sure how what he was about to say would be received. "There was something else that we discovered when we were rebuilding the part of the ship where the secondary energizer exploded. It looks like the Aurora was sabotaged! We found traces of explosive derivatives at key points around the location of the secondary energizer. One of them ignited the Tylium bunker next to the energizer causing the explosion!"

"Sabotage!" Commander Talon exclaimed surprised his eyes growing wide. "How come we never heard anything about that?"

"Admiral Corman thought it wise we didn't say anything," Admiral Anders responded his eyes moving across the group coming to rest on Admiral Clements. "He didn't want to tip off the saboteurs that we were aware of their actions. He has been searching for them for years but was never able to find them. We also couldn't understand why the government's investigation team never reported any of this. It all hinted at a possible government cover up."

"Now we know," Admiral Clements said with a knowing nod, Admiral Corman had briefed him on some of this. "It was obviously Cylon agents. They didn't want the Aurora to be in a position to command the fleet. This attack explains the system failures as well as the explosion. I don't know if we will ever know how the Cylons managed to plant agents in the ministry of defense and the government."

"I just find it hard to believe that any human would work for the Cylons," Major Adams said his forehead creased with a frown.

"Cubits!" Major Davison remarked scowling at the implications. "Some people will do anything for money."

"Why does she need so much power?" Commander Talon asked trying to take in all the revelations of the last few minutes. "I thought originally she had only three primary Energizers and one secondary."

"That's correct," Admiral Anders replied shifting his gaze back to the Aurora. "But we have had the good fortune of the aid of a number of very highly trained military research people and technical personnel assigned to the shipyard, thanks to Admiral Corman. Don't forget that team is headed up by Professor Ravashol the foremost expert in the Colonies on lasers, so we have added these to the Aurora."

The view of the screen changed and the Aurora seemed to leap up at them until she filled the entire screen. On the screen, several heavily armored tubes could be seen running along nearly the entire length on the underside of the vessel.

"Holy frak," Commander Talon murmured his eyes widening. "Are those Mega Pulse Lasers? We did away with those at the start of the first Cylon war. They used so much power they often left ships nearly defenseless after being fired. From what we have heard, the Cylons are no longer using them either. Why would you install them on the Aurora?"

"As I said, we had the use of a number of military research and design people under Professor Ravashol," Anders replied. "He and his research team have made a major breakthrough in pulse laser technology. These Mega Pulse Lasers in no way resemble the old ones."

"What about other weapons?" Commander Talon persisted. He didn't know if he approved of the Mega Pulse Lasers, they had been a big bust in the first Cylon war and a lot of ships had been lost due to their massive power use.

"The Aurora is equipped with numerous heavy kinetic energy rail guns and the normal point defensive weapons you would expect from a ship of her size," Admiral Anders continued knowing he hadn't convinced Commander Talon on the Mega Pulse Lasers. "She is equipped with four heavy Mega Pulse Lasers. They can hit anything within a fifteen-degree cone in front of the Aurora. The reason why is simple. They have twice the range of a heavy rail gun and ten times the destructive firepower.

"They can cause that much damage?" Commander Talon spoke trying to accept what Admiral Anders was telling them, but still feeling nervous about the Mega Pulse Lasers.

"As I said these Mega Pulse Lasers have no resemblance to the older ones," Admiral Anders replied patiently. "Their beams are more tightly focused and use slightly less power. They will be quiet deadly to anything they strike. As for power, the extra primary Tylium energizer we installed operates the lasers. We also installed four quad heavy laser batteries at the front of the ship. They have a range of fire of almost sixty degrees. The two secondary energizers power them. At close range, they will be deadly to any Cylon Basestar. Those two secondary energizers can also be used as a backup power source for the Mega Pulse Lasers if need be."

"What about those two Jupiter Class Battlestars we saw?" Major Adams asked. "Where did they come from?"

"The Battlestars Magellan and Odyssey," Admiral Anders replied. "They were both heavily damaged in a collision when their navigational programs failed during fleet maneuvers two years ago. Admiral Corman had them transferred here for repairs."

"I remember now," Major Adams said as he recalled the incident. "They were so heavily damaged that it was decided it would be cheaper to replace them with a new Mercury Class Battlestar."

"Major Davidson I want 1,000 of your cadets aboard the Magellan and the Odyssey and the remaining 2,000 aboard the Aurora," Admiral Clements ordered. "Admiral what type of air wings do you have currently aboard those three ships?"

"None sir," Admiral Anders replied shaking his head. "We put all the Mark two's we had aboard the Columbia Two Class Battlestars.

"Very well," Admiral Clements replied, then looking over at Major Adams. "Major Adams we have an extra squadron from the Caprica shipyards on board the Caprica. "Have it transferred immediately to one of the two Jupiter Class Battlestars. We have three other squadrons from the shipyards on board the Columbia Two Training Battlestars. Have them transferred also. Admiral Anders transfer all four of your viper squadrons to the Magellan and Odyssey. That will give both Battlestars four full squadrons. Look at the fleet crews we brought along for enough qualified personnel to fully man those two Jupiter's. If we have to get into a firefight with the Cylons before we get to our final destination, two more completely manned and armed Jupiter Class Battlestars could be very useful!"

"Admiral Anders, your people are very familiar with most of the systems aboard the Aurora, the Firestars and the Warstars. Start dispersing your crews to those ships, only keep essential personnel on the shipyard for now."

"Yes sir," Admiral Anders replied.

"All right," Clements said looking around the group. "We don't have a lot of time so let's get busy; the Cylons could show up at any time."

Time passed quickly as numerous shuttles began going back and forth between the ships. Crews were quickly transferred and ships were slowly being brought back on line. Admiral Clements was in the shipyard's CIC with Admiral Anders monitoring the entire process. He just hoped the Cylons gave them the time they needed. If the Cylons believed that the shipyard didn't represent a major threat, they might just have the time they needed to pull this off.

"Your shipyard is equipped with an FTL drive if I remember correctly," Clements said looking thoughtfully at Admiral Anders. He had been toying with an idea in his head now for several hours.

"Yes it is," Admiral Anders replied with a confused look on his face. "It was used to put the central hub of the station into position. Matter of fact there are two drives. But we have expanded and added so much onto the shipyard that it would be impossible to use them. We don't have the time to disconnect the rest of the station from the central module. Over the years, we have just interconnected everything too much! We have storage facilities and docking bays all over the outer framework."

"We have eight Columbia Two Class Battlestars at our disposal," Clements said thinking hard. He really wanted to take this shipyard with them. There was so much equipment and salvaged parts on board that it could potentially save them years of hard work. "What if we docked them to the station at an equal distance and tied all the FTL drives together under control of your main computer system. Would it be possible then to generate an FTL field big enough to jump the entire station?" Clements asked. If he remembered correctly, the Columbia Two's were equipped with overly large FTL drives for extremely long jumps.

Admiral Anders looked shocked and surprised at the suggestion. "I don't know," he said thinking furiously. "I never considered doing something like that. The calculations to synchronize all the FTL drives may be impossible to do. The Columbia Twos are equipped with very powerful FTL drives; even if we can make it work I don't think the jumps would be very long."

"That doesn't matter," Clements responded. "If we can safely jump the shipyard without seriously endangering it or the Columbia Twos then we need to seriously consider it."

"I will get my crew doing some calculations to see if it is a possibility, at the moment I just don't know if it can be done," Admiral Anders replied still feeling doubtful about this suggestion of Admiral Clements working. "I don't know of anyone trying something like this before. Perhaps if I talk to Professor Ravashol he might be able to shed some insight on how it might be done. But I'm afraid that even if we can jump the shipyard, it will generate a lot of stress on the station's outer structure. We might have to initiate a lot of repairs after each jump."

"But just think of the benefits if we can take this shipyard with us," Clements said. "A shipyard this size at our disposal would give us a lot of options. We could repair damaged ships and maybe even build new fleet units eventually."

"I will see if it's feasible," Admiral Anders replied wondering if Admiral Clements realized the enormity of the task that was being asked of him. "We have a pretty good computer center so it should not take to long to do the computations. This shipyard could be used to build new ships. We have all the capabilities of a major construction yard plus we have a tremendous amount of spare equipment and parts from all the ships that have been decommissioned."

A few hours later, they had their answer. Professor Ravashol had come over from his research ship and helped with the calculations as well as made some recommendations. They could indeed jump the shipyard but the jumps would only be about one forth what was considered to be a normal jump. Anything longer would put dangerous stress levels on the shipyard's structure. The computations also showed where major stress would be placed on the structure so crews were dispatched to strengthen the areas in question. It was also necessary to install additional FTL field emitters around the shipyard to help create a stable FTL field when all the drives were synchronized and activated. They had a lot of work to do and a short time to try to get it all done.

Admiral Clements had also come up with another idea, which Professor Ravashol, after running some calculations said would work. He had the Firestars dock with other ships in the Boneyards. By extending their FTL fields due to the shorter jumps they would be making, they could include the ships that they were docked to and take then along in their FTL jump. They were taking an additional eight Firestars, two more Warstars, and four Marine Assaultstars with them. These ships could be repaired later and brought back into service. While they would take a lot of work, it would well be worth it as long as they had the shipyard to help facilitate their reactivation.

Work progressed swiftly and the Aurora was moved next to the Battlestar Caprica. She seemed massive floating in space by the smaller Valkyrie Class Battlestar. The two Jupiter Class Battlestars also moved into a supporting position around the Aurora and the Caprica.

"I will be moving my Flag to the Aurora Commander Talon,' Admiral Clements said. "I will need her CIC to coordinate everything."

"I understand sir," Commander Talon replied with a nod. "The Aurora is a beautiful ship."

A few hours latter Admiral Clements was aboard the Aurora looking around its amazing CIC. It was massive. Huge HD view screens were placed strategically on the walls, which currently showed views of the ships and the shipyard. A crew of nearly 100 personnel was before its myriad of consoles and screens. Many of these were shipyard personnel from the Caprican shipyard who were rapidly familiarizing themselves with the CIC.

A number of Admiral Ander's shipyard personnel were present explaining some of the changes that had been made in the CIC to some of the personnel. A number of these shipyard people would stay aboard to assist in case any problems developed.

Admiral Clements had appointed Commander Ted Cain as the Commander of the Aurora. Commander Cain had been in transit from his own Battlestar for some downtime on Caprica when the Cylons had struck. His Mercury Class Battlestar had been one of the first to be destroyed in the conflict. Commander Cain was a distant relative of Admiral Helena Cain and was a very well qualified Battlestar Commander.

"Sir we have the Battlestar Picon arriving," the Dradis officer reported as he identified the new contacts that had appeared suddenly on the Dradis screen.

"I have Admiral Stockwell on com," Captain Reed reported from her new communication's console that she was quickly familiarizing herself with.

"You were not joking about ships being here I see," Admiral Stockwell commented over the mini com Admiral Clements was wearing in his right ear. "I assume you must be aboard the Aurora, my Dradis officer has already identified her. It looks like there was a lot going on that I didn't know about. That a lot of people didn't know about. I would be extremely interested on how the Aurora seems to be fully operational. Last I heard she was to be scrapped!"

"Sorry you had to be kept in the dark Admiral, but we couldn't reveal what we were doing," Clements replied. "It could have brought the entire Admiralty down if word had ever gotten out. How did your mission go?"

"We only found a little over eighteen hundred survivors," Admiral Stockwell replied sadly. "Nearly three hundred of them were stranded viper pilots. The Cylons really did a job on the fleet. We didn't see a single ship that might be salvageable. The Cylons really go for nuclear weapons for use against ships in a big way. We did come across four more civilian ships that we brought along, but civilian com traffic is completely gone. From what we could gather, the Cylons have been combing the space around the Colonies with their raiders nuking any civilian ship they come across. We lost four raptors to the Cylons, but our ships were never detected. From the Cylon intercepts, a few which were in the clear, they are currently landing Centurions on the Colonies. They mean to wipe out everyone on the surface of the home planets!" Admiral Stockwell paused for a moment before continuing. "Sir we looked around Scorpia but there was no sign of the Pegasus, a lot of the remains of the fleet ships had already burned up in the planet's atmosphere, I'm sorry sir. We also checked Ragnar but the Galactica was not there."

"Thanks for looking Admiral," Clements replied knowing now that Martin was dead and so was Adama. "Send me a list of the fleet personnel that you picked up that are fit for duty. We are preparing to leave and we can use everyone we can to man these ships."

Four hours later the fleet was ready to move out. From the CIC in the Aurora, all the ships were tied in to her powerful jump computer including the shipyard. On board the shipyard Admiral Anders, Professor Ravashol, and 200 specially selected crewmen manned the essential systems. The stations four viper squadrons had been sent to the Magellan and Odyssey. All eight of the Columbia Two Class Battlestars were docked to the shipyard and their FTL drives tied into the shipyard's computer and jump drive system under the watchful eye of Professor Ravashol. The rest of the ships were waiting for the Aurora to initiate the jump.

Admiral Clements looked around the CIC; in front of him slightly above the large operation's table were four massive view screens, which showed the fleet and the shipyards. There was also a huge Dradis screen in the center, which showed the current fleet disposition.

"Begin the jump," Admiral Clements ordered his eyes focused on the shipyard.

Commander Cain looked over at the navigation officer and gave the command.

At the FTL station, the Captain in charge pressed home and turned the FTL jump key. Immediately on the screen, the shipyard jumped followed rapidly by the rest of the fleet.

As soon as the last ship was gone, the outer satellites that kept the gas and radiation cloud at bay shut down. In less then twelve hours the cloud and radiation would cover the former location of the shipyard making it impossible to jump into. Hopefully the Cylons would never know what was missing from the Boneyards.

Admiral Clements watched as all the ships flashed back into normal space outside of the gas cloud. Admiral Anders reported only minor stress levels showing from the first jump but it would take nearly an hour for the FTL drives to build up the energy necessary for the next jump. Professor Ravashol also wanted to fine tune the jump calculations to try to reduce stress on the structure of the shipyard.

Admiral Clements placed Admiral Stockwell in charge of the fleet's operational Battlestars and ordered him to set up a defensive perimeter around the fleet until the next jump. They would maintain this posture until they arrived at their destination. Since they were so far away from the Colonies, he hoped they could stay one step ahead of the Cylons. Clements watched as vipers launched from the Battlestars and took up and formed a defensive CAP around the fleet. Now it was a waiting game. Could they stay one jump ahead of the Cylons or would the Cylons find them before they reached safety?

_Author's not. I know that I got a lot of ships from the boneyards but it was necessary for this story to work out as I have it planned. As large as the Colonial fleet was and the amount of time that had passed since the first Cylon war it made sense to me that a lot of ships would have been replaced with newer models and the older ones decommissioned. Admiral Corman, Admiral Nagala, and Admiral Clements had a two fold plan. If the Cylons attacked and the fleet suffered major losses but were still managing to hold the Colonies then the fleet at the boneyards would have been used to reinforce the Colonial fleet in the Colonies to buy them time to get new construction on line. If it was an attack the Colonial fleet and the Colonies could not recover from, then Case Omega would be implemented and the boneyard fleet would fall under command of Admiral Clements._

**NOVA CLASS COMMAND BATTLESTAR (BATTLESTAR AURORA) **

**Length: 2,300 Meters **

**Width: ****800 Meters**

**Height: 500 Meters**

**Crew: 4,500**

**Marines: 600**

**680 ****Twin point defense weapons**

**8 ****Heavy KEW batteries on the bow**

**4 Heavy Mega Pulse Lasers mounted below the bow with a fifteen-degree cone of fire.**

**4 quad pulse laser batteries mounted on the bow with a sixty-degree range of fire.**

**6 Bow missile tubes for heavy missiles**

**36 Missile tubes. Eighteen each on the starboard and port side of the ship for heavy missiles**

**60 Medium heavy twin KEW turrets primarily on the port and starboard sides of the ship. 30 per side**

**40 heavy missile batteries capable of hitting capital ships or to take out attacking fighters. Each missile battery can fire six missiles every thirty seconds. **

**Hunter Class missiles. Small missiles used to target fighter craft.**

**Shrike Class missile. Standard missile with shaped heavy explosive charge.**

**Devastator Class missile. Large missile with tactical nuclear warhead for use against capital ships.**

**Conqueror Class missile. Ten-megaton nuclear warhead for use against capital ships. Missiles are very large and only used as a last resort.**

**240 Mark seven vipers**

**60 Raptors**

**4 Nomad Assault Shuttles**

**Columbia 2 Class Battlestar (Upgrade of the old Columbia Class Battlestar)**

**Length: 1,450 meters**

**Width: 450 meters**

**Height: 325 meters**

**Crew: 2,400**

**Marines: 200**

**520 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**2 Heavy bow KEW batteries**

**8 Medium twin KEW batteries on the upper hull**

**4 Medium twin KEW batteries on the lower hull**

**16 Dual batteries capable of firing shells or missiles**

**12 Missile tubes. 6 each on the starboard and port sides of the ship**

**120 Mark seven vipers**

**20 Raptors**

**Warstar**

**Length: 1,100 meters**

**Width: 300 meters**

**Height: 250 meters**

**Crew: 1,000**

**Marines: 150**

**Reinforced armor in all areas of the ship's hull particularly the bow**

**220 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**4 Heavy bow KEW batteries**

**20 Medium heavy single KEW batteries. Ten on each side of the ships hull**

**20 Dual batteries capable of firing either shells or missiles. 10 on each side of the ships hull**

**6 Bow missile tubes**

**Small landing bay on lower hull for shuttles and raptors**

**Firestar**

**Length: 1,100 meters**

**Width: 300 meters**

**Height: 275 meters**

**Crew: 1,150**

**Marines: 150**

**240 Rapid firing twin defensive turrets**

**2 Heavy bow KEW batteries**

**20 Medium heavy single KEW batteries. Ten on each side of the ships hull**

**20 Dual batteries capable of firing either shells or missiles. 10 on each side of the ships hull**

**2 Bow missile tubes**

**40 Mark seven vipers (single flight pod attached to the lower hull of the ship, flight pod's outer hull is heavily armored)**

**6 Raptors**


	10. Chapter 10

**DEEP SHELTER BASE **

**CAPRICA**

Captain Sims was sitting inside his raptor, which was currently located on top of the indiscriminate mountain where Deep Shelter Base was secretly located. Besides himself, there were Lieutenant James and Lieutenant Mark Wilson who was an electronics and COM specialist, plus six heavily armed marines. The marines were stationed strategically outside the raptor where they could spot any movement coming up the mountainside. The raptor itself was camouflaged to blend in with its surroundings. Captain Sims had carefully nestled the raptor in between several large trees. Even from above, without the camouflage, they would be hard to detect.

They were currently projecting a small jamming field that prevented any messages from getting out of the mountain. The field was so small and focused that Captain Sims was not too concerned about the Cylons detecting it. Besides, where they were currently located it would be weeks or possibly even months before the Cylons got out to these secluded wilderness areas. At first, he had been skeptical about the need for this mission, but in the last twenty-four hours, they had blocked four outgoing transmissions from the base.

"It's hard to believe we actually have traitors inside the base," Susan said with a tinge of worry in her voice as she watched Lieutenant Wilson check his jamming console. "How could people help the Cylons, why would they do such a thing?"

"I know it's hard to believe," Captain Sims replied with a slight scowl looking out the cockpit window at the towering trees and mountainside that surrounded them.

Everything seemed so peaceful and quiet here. It was hard to believe what had transpired across many areas of the planet from the Cylon attack.

"But that would explain how the Cylon attack could be so successful and devastating," he spoke trying hard to keep the anger out of his voice. "They had help in the Colonies, evidently a lot of help. Colonel Edwards reports they have captured three of the people who tried to send out messages. They are under arrest and being questioned."

Lieutenant Wilson suddenly leaned forward attentively and adjusted several dials on his console, his eyes narrowing in concentration. "We have another attempt at outgoing communication. I have located the source and I am transmitting the information to Colonel Edwards."

"Frak," Captain Sims said aggravated looking over at Susan. "Just how many of these traitors did we bring with us?"

Susan didn't reply as she watched Lieutenant Wilson work at his console. Her mind kept wandering to her parents in their remote hunting and fishing lodge up in the mountains. She wished there was someway to find out if they were all right. They were nearly a quarter of the planet away in their isolated mountain home. Surely they are okay, she thought to herself. There were no major cities close to the lodge. Her father was a clever man and he was bound to be taking whatever precautions were necessary to stay safe.

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

In orbit around Caprica, the Cylon Command Basestar seemed to float menacingly above the once heavily populated planet. On board the enormous vessel, the Cylon leaders were meeting discussing the success of their war against the humans.

"What is the current status of the human war fleet?" the tall thin blond female Cylon known as number Six asked. "Have we confirmed the destruction of all its units?"

"Not quite," Cavil replied, he was a number One model and his model had planned the attack on the Colonies. "We have confirmation of 114 Battlestars destroyed and the majority of their Gunstars and Escortstars."

"From our preliminary reports we have 8 Battlestars unaccounted for, 12 to 16 Gunstars, and over 20 Escortstars," Leoben Conoy a number Two model commented. "Many of these are believed to have been destroyed in the opening stages of the attack. Data from our opening strike has been very difficult to analyze and confirm some of the kills on the human ships. The data is confusing because of the magnitude of the initial assault and the movement of so many ships. But we believe that the majority of the missing vessels were probably destroyed."

"But we don't know for sure?" the tall black man a number Four known as Simon said. "There could still be a few Colonial fleet units out there."

"It won't matter shortly," Cavil replied dismissing the threat from the few unaccounted for Colonial vessels. "We have finished phase one of the attack upon the Colonies. We are already landing Centurions upon all their planets and their outposts in the star system. Very shortly, we will be sending out long-range heavy raiders and Basestars to finish off the few outposts and stations they have established outside of the Colonies. We are already sending out heavy raiders searching for fleeing civilian ships. Humanity as an independent entity is finished!"

"I still say we should have taken out those outer outposts as part of the initial attack," the brunette who was a number Eight stated. "We have given them two full days to flee. They may be very difficult to find. We can't let any of these humans escape! We can't let them grow strong again; if they do they will turn on us with a ferocity we can scarcely imagine."

"They won't, they have no where to go," Cavil replied his voice rising slightly. "We have already accounted for the majority of the human civilian fleet. Our heavy raiders have destroyed every civilian vessel they have come across. Those few that jumped away from the Colonies will be hunted down. They have very few supplies and our long-range heavy raiders will find them and destroy them. They will only call in the Basestars if they find a warship. Within a very short time, all surviving Colonial ships will be eliminated. We will also be sending heavy raiders on routine patrols to all the surrounding star systems within the cluster. It may take years but we will find any survivors and destroy them!"

"What about the Caspian system? Simon stated worriedly. "Our fleet sent to take that mining system was destroyed and there is no trace of where the humans in that system have gone to! From what our fellow brothers and sisters have said, who have completed their download there was a small Colonial fleet consisting of several of their old Warstars and Firestars in that system. Where did they come from?"

"I have already given the orders for a group of our Basestars to jump to the Colonial Decommissioning Yards out near the edge of the cluster and destroy them," Cavil replied agitated. "A few old warships will not be a danger to us and we have numerous heavy raiders out searching for these survivors. We will find them shortly and then they will be annihilated."

"What about the Battlestar Aires and the civilian ships she escaped with?" Simon continued.

"My brother Darien is pursuing the Aires and her wayward fleet of civilians," Cavil replied his eyes glaring at Simon growing angry at all the questions. "The reserve hub has gone with them since we also believe that a Jupiter Class Battlestar may be with the Aires. Darien has sufficient forces to finish both of them off and then the civilians."

"I hope you're not being too overconfident" the number Three who was called Biers replied shaking her head in doubt. "We already have a problem with the Galactica and the civilian fleet Adama is protecting. How could that old Battlestar survive?"

"That is unknown but it doesn't matter," Cavil replied anger now showing in his voice. He was getting tired of his fellow Cylons doubting the success of the attack. "We have a tracking device on one of their ships and our pursuing Basestars will shortly eliminate that minor threat. The Galactica doesn't have the firepower to stand up to several of our Basestars; all we have to do is find her."

"She did well enough at the Anchorage!" the Eight replied recalling how the Galactica had held off several Basestars and Support Ships. "Adama managed to hold off two of our Basestars and two Support Ships while the civilian fleet escaped."

"We didn't realize the Galactica had survived or that she had rearmed herself, our ships were taken by surprise," Cavil replied defensively, anger showing in his eyes as they narrowed and then in a louder voice. "It will not happen again!"

"We also haven't heard from our ships that were sent to destroy the Sidon mining colony," the blonde Six commented frowning with concern crossing her face.

"I have dispatched two more Basestars to check on our ships and the Sidon," Cavil snapped with anger growing in his voice. "I'm sure they're just finishing up destroying the mining operations. There is nothing to be concerned about!"

"How many humans survived our initial attack upon their planets?" another human model Cylon asked. He was a man, a number Five called Doral.

"We used high yield nukes on most of their major cities, as well as airbursts and neutron weapons to eliminate as much of the population as possible," Cavil replied.

"They numbered nearly fifty billion," Simon stated shaking his head. "Even using nukes a lot of them survived. Remember, we decided that we want the Colonies for ourselves so we used short half-life isotopes in the nukes. We also didn't bomb many of the isolated outlying areas."

"I still think that was a mistake," Cavil retorted. He had wanted to level the Colonies. Cylons could handle more radiation then humans. After a few years, they could have settled upon the Colonies without any worry about the human pest.

"We didn't want to destroy the eco system," Simon reminded Cavil. "If it was too severely damaged, it could have taken centuries for the Colonies to recover!"

"There will be millions of survivors upon the Colonies that will have to be hunted down," the blond Six stated looking around the group. "Fortunately the lack of adequate food and adverse conditions on the Colonies from our attack will help to reduce that surviving population very quickly. Our Centurions will be taking out any sizable population centers that may have survived. It will only be a few months until the survivors are reduced to a few small groups that we can deal with at our leisure."

"What about our other plans for the humans?" Biers asked looking over at Simon. "We will need some of them for experimentation."

"That is being arranged," Simon replied. "We are already searching the survivors for suitable candidates; those we find are being isolated and will be available for our use. Those found unfit are being exterminated. We are also searching for certain human scientists who may be useful in some of our research. Many of our agents upon the Colonies made sure that some key humans' essential to our research survived. They will soon be delivered to the holding facilities we are constructing."

The human Cylons looked around at each other satisfied with the results so far. The war against the humans had been a complete success. There were a few minor problems to take care of, but other then that the war had been won. The human menace was finally destroyed!

**BATTLSTAR AURORA**

Aboard the Aurora Admiral Clements watched the massive view screens as the ship completed its final jump. For five days, the fleet had been jumping toward this destination. On the main view screen, a massive gas cloud spread across space.

"Commander Cain, send a probe to this set of coordinates," Admiral Clements ordered passing him a data disk. "The probe is to scan the immediate area and then jump back to us."

"Yes sir," Commander Cain replied wondering what could be hidden in this gas cloud.

Nothing showed in the Colonial military data banks other then the cloud size. It was named the Andorian Nebula and was four light years long and nearly three light years thick. It was on the very edge of the Cyrannus Cluster. The data banks also estimated from the radiation readings of the cloud, that at least eight star systems were hidden somewhere in its depths. These systems were unreachable due to the density of the nebula and the radiation. Any ship attempting to jump into the nebula would be destroyed.

A few hours later, much to the surprise of Commander Cain the probe returned in a small flash of white light. He watched Admiral Clements, as the probe's information was downloaded to a console next to the operation's table.

Admiral Clements carefully studied the results on his console. After making a few adjustments and updating some coordinates, he had the final FTL jump coordinates for the fleet.

What very few people knew was that nearly twenty years ago as a Captain; he had conducted a secret survey mission in this cloud. For nearly two years, he and another companion had flown a special heavily armored ship, making small jumps of only one eighth of a light year toward a gravitational source deep within the cloud. Each jump had caused damage to the ship, but it had been specially designed for this mission.

They had finally reached their destination and found a solar system of twelve planets. The ship had been equipped with special probes, which were sent out to scan the star system; this had taken an additional six months. The original mission had been to see if a colonizable planet might exist in the nebula that could be used as a secrete refuge in case of a massive Cylon attack. When the survey of the system was complete, they found only one clear area where an FTL jump could be initiated. The clear area was where two large planets were located.

The two planets orbited one another at a close distance. A smaller planet 14,000 kilometers in diameter orbited a large gas giant nearly 120,000 kilometers in diameter. The space between the two planets, which had reduced radiation had been swept clear of the dangerous gas cloud which prevented FTL jumps. It was into this area that Admiral Clements planned to jump the fleet. It should be a safe haven. The surrounding radiation was poisonous to the Cylons and without the jump coordinates of the safe area, they should never be able to find the human survivors.

Admiral Clements set the jump coordinates up in the Aurora himself under several layers of security. He then ordered the shipyard to jump first, once he was satisfied that they had adequately reinforced the structure. This jump would be slightly longer then the ones they had been making, but with the work that had been done to stabilize the structure after each jump, Professor Ravashol felt confident the shipyard would stay intact.

Once the shipyard jumped and a raptor returned and confirmed its safe arrival, Admiral Clements had the rest of the fleet jump. Admiral Clements had informed Admiral Stockwell what he would find. He had spent several long minutes briefing the Admiral on the system and the clear space the fleet was going to jump into. He was to wait there, keep the fleet organized, and await the arrival of other survivors.

There were a number of other survivors that Admiral Clements hoped would arrive. Only the Battlestar Caprica stayed behind with the Aurora. Admiral Clements watched as the rest of the fleet vanished as their FTL jump drives were activated. An hour later an Escortstar returned and informed Clements that the fleet had arrived safely and was taking up orbit around the smaller of the two planets.

Time passed slowly as Clements patiently watched the Dradis screen hoping other survivors would arrive. He was very concerned about the mining colony Sidon and the units that were supposed to be with the colony. Much of what Admiral Clements hoped to accomplish rested on the Sidon surviving. That colony held a tremendous manufacturing facility plus a substantial quantity of stored supplies. While they could survive without the colony, its presence would make things much easier.

As heavily armed as the Sidon was, he couldn't imagine the Cylons managing to take it out. In order to do so they would have had to use a very large force, and from what intelligence they had been able to gain, the Cylons had concentrated their fleet on the home Colonies. The Sidon, while it may have been attacked, should have been able to handle anything the Cylons could have thrown at her. The Sidon was basically a huge battle station, which the Cylons had never seen before, so there should have been no way for them to have been prepared to take the Sidon.

Over the next twelve hours, the rest of the survivors straggled in. Admiral Clements let out a long sigh of relief when he saw the Sidon colony and her charges materialize. He held a brief conversation with General Collins. Admiral Clements was surprised at the Cylon attack on the colony. That they had sent three ships was a concern but he was pleased at how easily the Sidon had dispatched the three attacking Cylon vessels.

Only General Collins had access to all the information that Admiral Clements had. If Admiral Clements hadn't survived or managed to make it to the rendezvous point then General Collins would have taken over command. He was pleasantly surprised to find out that Collins had used his Escortstars to search nearby star systems as they jumped to the rendezvous coordinates. They had found additional 28 civilian ships containing nearly 30,000 more survivors. A few hours later, the colony and its group vanished as they activated their FTL drive and jumped to the safety of the new star system. An hour later, the civilian fleet under the protection of the five Gunstars showed up and they were quickly sent on their way.

Admiral Clements had also dispatched a Gunstar to the coordinates that Admiral Corman had ordered all outlying fleet vessels that were on patrol duty, research missions, and survey missions to rendezvous. Admiral Clements had no idea what the Gunstar would find. The fleet always had a few ships out on deep space patrol. There were military as well as civilian research vessels scattered around numerous star systems carrying out research and mineral surveys. How many of these would have escaped the Cylon attack he didn't know. He had hopes that the Cylons had placed a very low priority on these vessels as initial targets since they were out away from the Colonies. He knew that by now, the Cylons were probably searching for survivors throughout all the star systems in the cluster.

He was immensely surprised when the fleet of civilian ships that Admiral Nagala had sent to the rendezvous point showed up. It contained 136 civilian ships as well as six fleet personnel transports and six Marine Assault Ships. From initial reports the officer in charge reported that he had 204,000 civilians in the fleet, 28,000 fleet personnel, and slightly over 15,000 marines. Admiral Clements hadn't expected that Admiral Nagala would be able to save so many. The additional fleet personnel and marines were a huge asset. Especially considering the warships they had picked up at the Boneyards.

The Escortstars began to show up with a scattering of survivors. Nearly eight hours later the Gunstar sent to the fleet rendezvous point set by Admiral Corman flashed back into existence with a larger then expected group of ships. The biggest surprise was the Mercury Class Battlestar Canopus. It had been reported destroyed in the opening salvos of the Cylon attack. Admiral Clements later learned that the Canopus had been heavily damaged and had resorted to a blind FTL jump to escape. A dangerous move but it saved the Battlestar. The rest of the ships consisted of two more Gunstars, three Escortstars, fourteen fleet and civilian research vessels, and sixteen supply vessels that had been on missions to outlying outposts.

Admiral Clements sent the ships on and had the Aurora and the Caprica wait for an additional two hours. While he didn't expect any more Colonial ships to show up, he wanted to make sure the Cylons hadn't been able to trace any of the ships to this location. Once a reasonable amount of time had passed, Clements ordered the Aurora and the Caprica to jump into the waiting star system.

When the Aurora came out of the FTL jump the first thing Admiral Clements noticed was that the huge Dradis screen was covered with blips. On the huge view screens ships could be seen everywhere. He ordered a quick count of the survivors. He knew that they had saved a lot more people then he had originally hoped.

_Author's note: To answer several questions about ammunition for the surviving warships. Some smaller caliber ammunitions and missiles were stocked in the four Supply Depots that jumped with the Sidon. In addition, the Sidon has a large supply of all munitions and has a complete munitions factory capable of producing anything the fleet needs including missiles. There are now two Mercury Class Battlestars with the fleet. Both are capable of producing more vipers as well as munitions._

**Surviving Fleet Units.**

**One** Nova Class Commandstar: Aurora

**Two** Mercury Class Battlestars: Picon and Canopus

**Three** Jupiter Class Battlestars: Cimitar, Magellan, and Odyssey

**Eight** Columbia Two Class Battlestars. Altair, Spica, Pandora, Chimera, Marathon, Miranda, Archimedes, and Medusa

**One** Valkyrie Class Battlestar: Caprica

**Four** Assaultstars: Gideon, Chiron, Demetrius, and Delphi

**Twelve** Warstars:

**Twenty-two** Firestars:

**Thirteen** Gunstars:

**Twenty-six** Escortstars:

**Ten** Marine Assault Ships:

_Keep in mind that many of the Warstars and Firestars still need to be repaired as well as all four of the Assaultstars._


	11. Chapter 11

**A STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE**

**DAY EIGHT**

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

Aboard the Cylon Command Basestar above Caprica, the Cylon leaders were meeting.

"It seems that the Galactica and her refugee fleet have managed to escape," the blonde Six commented dryly her gaze focusing on Cavil. "Adama managed to destroy the ship with the tracking device!"

"Bah!" Cavil uttered showing his anger at the failure to destroy the Galactica. "They got lucky it won't happen again."

"What about the Aires and her fleet? The blonde Six persisted, her challenging eyes meeting Cavils. "The Battlestar Aires and the small civilian fleet she was protecting also got away. From the latest reports from the Reserve Hub, some highly advanced Titan Class Gunstars rescued them! Now we have the Galactica, the Aires, and these mysterious Titan Gunstars on the loose."

"We have a number of Basestars searching for Adama. At some point, they have to stop to resupply. When they do we will destroy Adama and his fleet," Cavil replied aggravated. "They aren't a serious menace. They will be found and destroyed; it's only a matter of time. One old Battlestar and her ragtag fleet of survivors don't compose a major threat! Don't forget, we have agents aboard that fleet. As for the Aires, she is heavily damaged and we will find her and the civilians with her. They can't escape for long! We are still analyzing these reports of Titan Class Gunstars. We have confirmed that the Jupiter Class Battlestar that escaped with the Aires was destroyed in the battle!"

"We shall see," the blonde Six replied, her blue eyes unwavering; it just seems to me that all of a sudden there are a lot of loose ends! "What about this Colonial base we have found in that nebula?"

"We may have other problems also," Conoy spoke up interrupting. "The two Basestars and the Support Ship that were sent to destroy the Sidon mining colony were in turn destroyed. The two Basestars we sent to investigate report finding the wreckage of over 100 Colonial vipers mixed in with the wreckage of our ships."

"So many," an Eight replied frowning. "Many more then a mining colony should have had at its disposal. How did they destroy our ships and so many raiders? Is it possible that some of the missing fleet ships reached the Sidon and prevented the mining colonies destruction?"

"Not only that but we are receiving disturbing reports of missing Colonial stations," Simon added with a worried frown looking at Cavil. "Four fleet Supply Depots are missing, the Nexus shipyard is missing, many of the outer outposts and research stations are empty, and now we find out about this missing mining colony."

"We also have not been able to jump to the Boneyards where they keep their decommissioned ships. The area is full of gas and radiation and our probes are being destroyed when they jump in. We have to assume that the personnel at that shipyard were also evacuated and the gas and radiation allowed to cover the area to mask their escape," Doral stated looking around at the entire group. "I just don't like the way things are adding up. It seems like something is going on that we didn't plan on."

"It sounds like some type of planned evacuation," Biers commented with concern in her voice. "If they are all together, this could represent a major threat to us. With those Supply Depots and the Nexus shipyard, they could become a serious threat. If the Sidon mining colony is with them, then they have a major source of supplies that the colony can create. These humans will have their tech base and could someday mount an attack upon us. They must be found and destroyed immediately!"

"We already have found some of them," Cavil grated out in anger his eyes narrowing sharply. "This secret base we have found in the nebula, we know they were sending raptors out to bring in civilians. I suspect that some of the missing Colonial units if not all of them, are probably inside."

"But what if they're not?" Biers persisted, her eyes flashing with worry.

"We are searching all the nearby star systems for other Colonial survivors. If they are not inside this secret Colonial base inside the nebula, they couldn't have gone far. We will find them and destroy them as we have all the other Colonial units. We are only talking about ten or twenty thousand humans in the missing stations. They can't pose a serious threat," Cavil responded growing more irritated.

It had been his decision not to take out these Supply Depots in the original assault but to take them out as part of the mopping up process. The missing shipyard was his biggest concern. With it, the Colonials could repair any damaged fleet ships as well as build new ships eventually. It was probably a mistake not to have targeted it in the initial strike. Hopefully it was trapped inside the nebula.

"Our raiders also are not finding the number of civilian ships that we expected," the blonde Cylon continued meeting Cavils irritated look with an icy glare. "It's almost as if someone beat us to them. If the individuals responsible for escaping with these Supply Depots also managed to rescue a sizable group of civilian ships, we could be looking at a much greater threat then what the Galactica and her refugees represent. Also the Sidon mining colony. We have no idea how many humans were on it!"

"It was a fraking mining colony!" Cavil responded growing angrier. "Even if it had 20,000 or 30,000 humans on board it can't be that big of a threat. As I said earlier, most of the missing Colonial units are probably inside the nebula!"

"But this mining colony managed to destroy the force we sent against it," the blonde Cylon reminded him pointedly.

"They don't represent a threat!" Cavil responded with a hint of growing impatience and anger in his voice. "They represent such a small group of surviving humans that they can't pose any immediate danger to us. We will find them and finish them off. It would take them untold years to become a serious threat. I have already ordered Darien to assemble a fleet to destroy the survivors in the nebula. If they won't come out, we will go in and get them! Once these survivors in the nebula are destroyed the others will only be a minor nuisance."

"This nebula is full of radiation that is dangerous to us," Simon reminded Cavil with a frown. "We can't download where this type of radiation is present."

"I am aware of that," Cavil replied his eyes focusing on Simon. "But we can handle the radiation for a short time, long enough for us to destroy these humans. Our losses should be minor."

"I just hope you're right Cavil," Biers replied with a slight nod. "You know that some of us were very concerned about attacking the humans to begin with. If they manage to come back some day in any sizable force, they will not be very forgiving towards us. They will have one objective and one objective only, our total and complete annihilation."

"That will never happen," Cavil replied his eyes cold. "They will all be dead before that day can ever arrive!"

"We must make sure of that," Doral replied. "We must wipe them out, even the ones we are gathering for our special research projects."

"Eventually," Cavil replied with a nod. "For now some of them may have their uses. When their usefulness is over, they can easily be disposed of. They will be under heavy security with enough Centurions on guard duty to insure that nothing goes wrong."

The Cylons finished their meeting. The other models insisted that Cavil provide Darien with enough Basestars and Support Ships to destroy thoroughly whatever the Colonials had hidden inside the nebula. Then each went about their assigned tasks. There was much to do with finishing their assault upon the Colonies.

**SIDON MINING COLONY**

**CONFERENCE ROOM**

Admiral Clements was on board the Sidon with most of the other senior fleet commanders. They had just completed a quick tour of the Sidon and her facilities given my Mayor Mike Patterson.

"This is amazing," Admiral Anders said staring out in amazement at the scene before him. He was standing in front of a large window on the military end of the Sidon. The window provided a panoramic view of the interior of the colony. "I can't believe what has been accomplished here." He could see the city, the parks, and the growing green fields that surrounded the small metropolis. "After seeing this I almost believe that we can defeat the Cylons. With this industrial base and the shipyards, we have an unbelievable starting point to begin to rebuild."

"Just the number of warships we have at our disposal is a huge start," Admiral Stockwell said, gazing out over the colony. He had just spent some time with Admiral Clements going over the ships they now had available. He had thought the Colonial fleet was destroyed, but now with the ships recovered from the Boneyards, the fleet was about to rise from the ashes very quickly. "It will take a while to get the crews trained and working together, but once that's done we will have one powerful fleet to hit the Cylons with!"

"I talked with my shipyard engineers before I came over and they estimate it will take four months to complete the repairs on the Canopus from the damage she sustained." Colonel Peterson, who was in charge of the Nexus shipyard commented. "Some of her damage is very severe and entire sections of her landing bay are going to have to be ripped out and replaced."

"Once she is repaired that will give us two Mercury Class Battlestars," Admiral Stockwell replied. "We know from what happened at Virgon that a Mercury can easily take on two or more Cylon Basestars!"

"I also talked to my people," Admiral Anders added turning to face Admiral Stockwell. "We can finish activating the remaining Firestars, Warstars, and the Marine Assaultstars in about six to eight months. Fortunately we have all the parts and equipment we need stored on the shipyard from some of our earlier decommissioning efforts."

The men turned as Admiral Clements, General Collins, and Mayor Mike Patterson entered the room. The men took their seats, they knew that the meeting was about to get underway. In addition, the four Majors in charge of the Supply Depots and General Abramson the commanding Marine officer was present.

"Gentlemen I assume you all enjoyed your tour of the Sidon colony," Admiral Clements began looking around the group. "You probably have guessed that this is not just a mining colony, it was built and designed to carry on our civilization in case of a major Cylon attack. Admiral Corman, Admiral Nagala, and I have worked for years behind the scenes preparing for just the type of disaster that has struck our Colonies."

"I still can't believe everything we saw today," Admiral Anders commented shaking his head in disbelief. "The work that has been done here is astounding. I never would have believed that something like this could be built."

"It took a while," Mayor Patterson replied with a weary smile recalling all the work and long hours it had taken to get the Sidon in the condition it was in currently.

"While we always hoped it would never happen, we felt we had to take adequate precautions," Admiral Clements continued. "Especially due to the fact that over the last several administrations our fleet was being rapidly reduced. When the Firestars and Warstars were retired, we knew that we might not have the strength to stop a major Cylon attack. In recent years, the Colonial government even voted to slow down the Battlestar construction programs. Our politicians and even our civilian population seemed to have forgotten the horrors of the original Cylon war of forty years ago." Clements paused looking over the group.

"In the last few years we saw to it that certain installations had FTL drives installed and were staffed with key personnel that when the time came, could be counted on to follow our plans," Clements spoke as he recalled the careful plans that Admiral Corman, Nagala, and himself had worked on behind the scenes. "We arranged for the Nexus shipyards, the four Supply Depots, and the Sidon colony to be the basis of our new beginning if the worst happened."

"Thank the God's of Kobol that you did," General Abramson commented. "We're just fortunate that the government didn't find out about any of this."

"We took special precautions to insure against that, even though toward the end Both Admiral Corman and I felt that the Vice President of the Colonies suspected. Admiral Corman was even called into the Vice President's office, and warned to be more careful of his activities. Admiral Corman and I both believed that toward the end, the Vice President was helping to insure that what we were doing was kept secret."

"That doesn't surprise me," Colonel Peterson said nodding his head. "The Vice President was known to disagree with President Adar about reducing the size of the fleet. There were even rumors that the Vice President was not going to be included on the next election ticket with the President because of their disagreements over the military."

"We also arranged for a number of ships not to be decommissioned at the Boneyards in case they were ever needed," Clements continued. "We were very fortunate that what we were doing never became public knowledge. It was always a very serious concern and possibility."

He looked around the group before continuing. "What wasn't counted on was the huge number of civilians we were able to rescue. As a result, we have about double the civilian population we had originally counted on. That is going to cause some serious problems. Obviously, they can't live on their ships forever so another solution has to be found. That must be our first priority. These civilians will make an excellent work force for our military efforts, but they must be treated civilly, respectfully, and with dignity. Being crowded aboard those ships is not going to make the military very popular to anyone."

"Mayor Patterson, how many could you take aboard the Sidon?" Admiral Anders asked looking over at the Mayor.

Mayor Patterson looked around the group carefully before replying, He had suspected this would come up and had already held several long meeting with his subordinates. "The Sidon already has a population of over 600,000. The city is designed to handle about 750,000. But how do we decide who gets to come here and who doesn't? That could create another problem in itself." Mike paused for a moment to see if anyone had any suggestions.

"I would suggest we look at what our construction needs are going to be," Admiral Anders replied. "The people who are going to be the biggest asset should be looked after first. If we can transfer 100,000 people or so out of the ships we can relieve some of the overcrowding." Looking down Admiral Anders thumbed through several sheet of papers he had brought with him. "We have 87 passenger liners and 26 fleet personnel carriers in the fleet. All those ships are capable of keeping passengers relatively comfortable over a long period of time."

"We will also be transferring more personnel to the warships as they are brought back on line, that will also help to relieve some of our population pressure," Admiral Stockwell commented.

"That will all help," Mayor Patterson replied with a slight sigh. "But we could be in this system for years or even generations, we must have a long term solution!"

"I assume you already have something in mind Mike?" Admiral Clements stated. He knew that Mike Patterson was a very qualified individual and probably already had a plan worked out, he was very curious as to what it was.

"I have looked over the earlier survey reports on this system." Mayor Patterson began. "There is a large asteroid field located between the fifth and sixth planets. The Boneyards have six very large tugs that are used to maneuver old ships to the docks to be decommissioned. What I propose is that we reequip those tugs and send them out to the asteroid field. We can have them bring back a large asteroid for us to terra form just as we did the Sidon. That will give us plenty of room for the civilians, an area to grow more food, and build more construction facilities for the war effort."

"Do we have the equipment to terra form that large an asteroid?" Clements asked surprised. This was a massive project Patterson was proposing. Clements didn't know if they had the resources or manpower to accomplish it in a reasonable amount of time.

"The tugs could be modified," Admiral Anders commented thoughtfully. "They have very powerful engines but they were not designed for high speed or a trip that long."

"We still have all the equipment on board the Sidon that was used to originally terra form the colony. If we work around the clock it could actually be done very quickly." Patterson replied pushing home his plan.

"What is very quickly?" Admiral Clements asked his eyes meeting Mike's. He was beginning to like the idea. If they could terra form another asteroid and create a second Sidon type colony, it would help solve the civilian problem.

"My people estimate that it would take us four months to shape the asteroid and hollow out the inside. Probably another six months to finish the terra forming and city construction." Patterson replied with a smile. He knew that he had them now. This was the best solution to their population problem.

"That quickly," Admiral Stockwell said surprised. "How is that possible? That's one frak of an engineering project!"

"Simple Admiral," Mayor Patterson replied. "As I said, we still have all the original terra forming equipment stored on board the Sidon. In addition, we are a mining colony and we have a lot of automated equipment available to us that will be doing most of the work. I would propose that when we actually start the terra forming process that we use as many of the civilians as are qualified in the fleet. That will give them something to do while they wait. It should also help with the moral of the civilians if they know they are working toward something that will benefit them."

"Admiral Anders how soon can your tugs be ready?" Admiral Clements asked deciding that they would accept Mike's proposal.

"I can begin modifications immediately on the tugs," the Admiral replied thoughtfully. "However, I would suggest that we use six of the Columbia Two Battlestars to take the tugs to the asteroid we want. We can then attach the tugs to the asteroid. If we take along some small Tylium fuel tankers, we can refuel the tugs on the asteroid as they move it into an orbit that will bring it back here. We can use the tugs to adjust the trajectory to insure that it arrives exactly where we want it. The Columbia Two Battlestars can then intercept us at a specific time and help slow the asteroid back down. If we do it that way we can probably have a suitable asteroid here in about three months."

"Admiral Stockwell, what do you think? Are the crews of the Columbia Two Battlestars ready for such a mission?" Admiral Clements asked. Major Davidson's cadets still primarily manned the ships.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Stockwell replied. "They preformed admirably on the trip here. It will give us an opportunity to further train the cadets and we can add enough experienced personnel from other ships to insure that everything goes smoothly. We will have to use the sub light engines continuously to get us there and back, which will use a lot of Tylium but yes we can do it." The Admiral also knew that their sub light speed would be severely limited. Using too much power could cause an explosive reaction between the radioactive gases of the nebula and the Tylium residue expelled by the sub light engines.

"Ok then, let's get it done," Admiral Clements ordered. "After this meeting I want Admiral Stockwell, Admiral Anders, and Major Davidson to get together with Mayor Patterson and plan out the operation. Once you have made your plans submit them to me for final approval. We want to get this done as quickly as possible."

"Now what about new ship construction? I know we have a lot of reactivating to do and repairs on the Canopus, but do we have the capacity to construct any new ships, particularly Battlestars?" Admiral Clements asked looking at Admiral Anders and Colonel Peterson.

"Colonel Peterson and I discussed that earlier," Admiral Anders replied. "If we put crews on both shipyards working around the clock, we estimate that we have the parts and the equipment to construct two new Jupiter Class Battlestars. We would have to use the crew from the Caprican shipyard to fill in for the rotation to get it done."

"Two new Jupiter Class Battlestars," Admiral Stockwell commented surprised his eyes widening. "Can you really do that?" He had been hoping for additional Gunstars at the best."

"Yes we can." Admiral Anders replied confidently. "Fortunately we have all the parts we need and both shipyards have the design specs for the Jupiters. We considered trying to build Mercurys but it would put to big of a strain on our available resources."

"How long," Admiral Clements asked. He had thought they might be able to produce some lighter units. Escortstars, or ever Gunstars, he had not imagined they would be able to build any Battlestars.

"With the extra crews we estimate we can have both Battlestars completed in sixteen months," Admiral Anders replied looking over at Colonel Peterson who nodded in agreement. "We will build one at the Boneyards and the other at the Nexus Shipyard."

Admiral Clements turned to Major Adams who had been sitting quietly listening to everyone. "Major Adams, get the Caprica shipyard crew assigned to the two shipyards. I want to get these construction programs going as quickly as possible!"

"Admiral Stockwell," Clements continued with a serious look on his face. "We have six Gunstars of the Assault class with ecm equipment on board. I want those six Gunstars dispatched to search as many star systems as possible for surviving civilian ships. If Cylons detect them, they are to activate their FTL drives and jump to safety; they are not to engage the Cylons! They will not possess the jump coordinates back to this location. We will place the Battlestar Caprica outside the gas cloud. The Gunstars will return to the Caprica's location and Commander Talon will then provide them with the FTL coordinates for the jump back inside the nebula."

"Yes sir," Stockwell replied nodding. "I will have the ships checked out and ready to go within twelve hours."

"That should do it then," Admiral Clements said. "Let's get to work people; we have a lot to do!"

**DAY TWELVE**

Lieutenant Sarah Wells and her wingman Lieutenant Mathew Geller were flying CAP patrol around the fleet and the other Colonial units.

"I can't believe so many survived," Mathew said as they flew between the Nexus Shipyard and the massive Mercury Class Battlestar Picon. Everywhere there were ships. Ships of every size and make were present, from Tylium tankers, to cargo ships, to the sleek passenger liners of the Colonies.

"At least we have something to live for now," Sarah replied as she made a slow circuit around the Battlestar gazing at its name lit up with bright running lights on the starboard flight pod. "Once they bring in the new asteroid to build the new colony, at least everyone will have a home to go to. It will be secure and safe just like the Sidon, everyone needs that."

"Are we really safe from the Cylons?" Mathew asked a little worriedly flying close enough to Sarah's viper that he could actually see her in the cockpit. "They have a huge fleet and will be searching for us. Even when the new colony is done and all the warships we brought with us have been put back into commission, will we have the firepower to hold them off?"

"I hope so." Sarah said quietly thinking about her family back on Picon. "They won't take us by surprise like they did back in the Colonies. General Collins and Admiral Clements will see to that."

Sarah was worried about her brother David. He was the only member of her family that might have had a real chance to survive. She had already checked the Gunstars that were with the fleet and none of them was the one her older brother was in Command of. She knew that didn't mean he was dead. There were surely other fleet units that had escaped; perhaps someday they would be reunited.

It was her parents and sister that she was most concerned about. Just not knowing what had happened was the worst part. Were they alive or dead, she just didn't know. She knew that the odds of them surviving were very slim. "We must not ever take our safety for granted again, not after what happened!"

"You're right Sarah," Mathew replied knowing what Sarah was going through. His own family had died in an accident years before so he really didn't have any close family members, except for a couple of uncles and cousins he hadn't seen in years.

They approached the Aurora and flew slowly down her massive port flight pod. "By Kobol, that Battlestar is huge," Mathew said almost in awe, staring at the massive ship.

"I can't believe she is here," Sarah said with emotion in her voice. "She is the most powerful Battlestar the Colonies ever built and someday she is going to make the Cylons pay for what they did to us! With that ship it makes me feel like someday we can drive the Cylons from the Colonies."

They flew the rest of their patrol in silence both in deep thought. Finally, they brought their vipers back to the Sidon and made their landings in its cavernous landing bay.

Climbing down from her viper Sarah walked over to Mathew who was removing his flight helmet.

"I have to set up a rotational schedule for our viper squadron to fly CAP on the fleet. Until things become better organized they want to keep several full squadrons of vipers on patrol at all times," Sarah said.

"Do you want to get a bite to eat before you start that?" Mathew asked feeling hungry.

"No," Sarah replied with a wane smile. "I'm really tired and after making out the schedule I'm going to try to get a decent night's sleep." With a nod, she turned and began walking toward the hatch that led deeper into the Sidon and the fleet personnel quarters.

Mathew watched her leave disappointed. He cared for Sarah a lot. A lot more then she probably suspected, but every time he tried to get closer to her, she seemed to push him away. Sighing he turned and entered the hatch, planning on heading toward one of the Sidon's many cafeterias for a decent meal before he too retired. It had been a long day!

**GUNSTAR HESTIA**

**CIVILIAN SEARCH**

The Gunstar Hestia jumped into the next system on their search list. So far, they had found no civilian ships, but in five of the six systems they had jumped into, they had detected the presence of Cylon heavy raiders. Major Stokes had a worried feeling that the Cylons had already wiped out whatever remained of the civilian fleet.

"Current ship status," Major Stokes asked Captain Bryant the ship's tactical officer.

"No signs of detection, ECM systems are operational." Bryant replied as he checked his screens.

"Dradis is clear of Cylon contacts, or anything else for that matter," Lieutenant Evans the Dradis officer added.

"Com traffic is silent," Lieutenant Smithe added as he ran through all the commonly used frequencies as well as the emergency frequencies.

Major Stokes allowed himself to relax a bit. It looked like they were safely in this system and they had not been detected.

"Move us into the system and began scans, let's see what we have," Major Stokes ordered.

According to the Colonial survey records, this star system was a small system consisting of four planets and six moons. There was no asteroid field and very few minerals worth mining.

"I am receiving an emergency broadcast on a civilian channel," Lieutenant Smithe spoke suddenly as he began working to locate the origin of the signal.

"What do you have?" Major Stokes responded, perhaps they had finally found a civilian ship. "What ship is it?"

"It's a passenger liner sir," Lieutenant Smithe replied. "Ship registry shows it's the Astral Princess out of Picon. They report they are under attack from two Cylon heavy raiders."

"Spin up the FTL and get us to those coordinates," Major Stokes ordered crisply. "Prepare bow missile tubes to fire interceptor missiles upon completion of the jump. I want those two raiders blasted out of space."

"Sir" Captain Bryant said looking over at the Major. "I must remind you that we are not to engage Cylon vessels per Admiral Clement's orders."

"I know what our orders are Captain," Major Stokes replied his face grim. "But those are civilians from the Colonies and it is our sworn duty to protect them. That is exactly what I plan on doing!"

"Ready to jump sir," the FTL officer stated with his hand poised on the jump key.

"Initiate jump," Stokes ordered his eyes focused intently on the Dradis screen.

The Hestia vanished and reappeared half ways across the system jumping into range of both the passenger liner and her Cylon attackers.

"Interceptor missiles away," Captain Bryant reported as soon as the Dradis screen cleared showing two red threat icons and he had a confirmed target lock. On the Dradis screen four missiles sped away from the Hestia, inbound toward the two Cylon heavy raiders.

"Put us in between the Cylons and the passenger liner," Stokes ordered. "Activate our point defense turrets I want to intercept any Cylon fire on that passenger liner. Lieutenant Smithe, see if you can contact the passenger liner and fine out what her current condition is."

The four interceptor missiles sped toward their Cylon targets. The two Cylon heavy raiders tried to turn quickly to face this unexpected threat from their rear. They were searching for unarmed civilian targets not a heavily armed Colonial Gunstar. Two of the missiles impacted the first raider and the resulting twin fireballs instantly vaporized the Cylon heavy raider.

The second managed to get off a warning message to the nearest Basestar as well as shoot down one of the incoming interceptor missiles. The second missile impacted on the raiders bow blowing the ship into two pieces. The entire attack had lasted less then twenty seconds and all that remained of the two Cylon heavy raiders were two slowly expanding clouds of gas and debris. Major Stokes allowed himself to feel a moment of satisfaction at the elimination of the two Cylon heavy raiders.

"I have the passenger ship's Captain on the com sir," Lieutenant Smithe reported. "The Captain says the ship is heavily damaged. The FTL drive is destroyed and they have fires out of control all over the ship. He estimates they have fewer then 500 surviving crew and passengers, with a lot of those injured."

"Have the Captain direct us to a docking port that is useable," Major Stokes ordered. "We will evacuate his survivors to our ship and then we need to get out of here."

"Yes sir," Lieutenant Smithe replied. "Sir the last Cylon raider did get a signal out. We could be seeing additional Cylon forces anytime."

"Then we better get that ship evacuated very quickly," Major Stokes replied. He knew that the next Cylon threat he would be facing would probably be a Cylon Basestar. Something his Gunstar would not be capable of dealing with and surviving.

An hour later, the Hestia activated her jump drive and vanished from the system carrying 370 survivors from the Astral Princess. Less then 20 minutes later a Cylon Basestar jumped into the system and began launching raiders.

Several hours later, the human Cylons on board sent a message back to the Cylon Command Basestar in orbit around Caprica. A Colonial Gunstar had destroyed two heavy raiders and managed to rescue some of the crew and passengers off a damaged Colonial passenger liner. There was no sign of where the Gunstar had fled.

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

On board the Cylon Command Basestar, the blond Six turned to Cavil. "We have received reports of numerous detections of Colonial Gunstars. They are employing a highly advanced ECM screen, which is making their exact locations difficult to determine. By the time we get raiders to their estimated positions they have left."

"They are searching for survivors just as we have been," Cavil replied looking around the group.

"This search is too systematic and too organized, it implies some type of organizational structure has survived," Simon spoke with a hint of worry in his voice. "Some Admiral or high government official must have survived the attack and is coordinating this effort. This may very well involve the mining colony Sidon and the other Colonial fleet units that we have been unable to locate."

"We also have confirmed that the Battlestar Pegasus under command of Admiral Helena Cain survived," the female number Eight stated. "Could she be behind these rescue attempts?"

"Commander Cain," Cavil spat out in contempt. "The only thing she has on her mind at the moment is revenge. She will not be attempting to rescue civilians and if she had control of these Gunstars, she would be using them against us. She will make a mistake soon and when she does, we will destroy the Pegasus. We have set several traps for her and it is only a matter of time before she falls into one."

"What about the Galactica and her fleet, what if the Pegasus finds them? With two Battlestars, they could be a danger especially with Admiral Cain in command. She has a Mercury Class Battlestar that is capable of building new vipers. With the Galactica and Pegasus fully armed and operational they could be a threat, particularly if they find these Gunstars!" Conoy spoke expressing his concern.

"The two will never find each other," Cavil said. "We will destroy each separately. As far as these Gunstars and the few other survivors, it is only a matter of time before we find them!"

"Just like we destroyed the Colonial forces at their secret base!" the blonde Six spoke challengingly. "Over half the military force they had escaped as well as all the civilian ships. Not only that but the technology displayed by those mysterious Titans is worrisome!"

"We destroyed most of their Battlestars," Cavil replied defensively not liking the way this Six was speaking to him. "We allowed them to escape to find out where those Titans came from. From the reports we have, these same ships helped the Aires. Where ever they are going we will follow. We have sub space tracers on a number of their civilian ships and my brother Darien is pursuing them with a major portion of our fleet. Once they lead us to their destination Darien will destroy them. All is going according to plan!


	12. Chapter 12

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

**IONION NEBULA**

Admiral Clements was busy aboard the Aurora, over the last several days the amount of meetings and plans they had implemented was staggering. Fortunately, they had a lot of qualified people to work with. Currently he was waiting for General Collins and General Abramson to arrive. They had requested this meeting saying they had discovered something of importance that they needed to discuss in private.

A few minutes later, the two arrived at the Admiral's quarters and were allowed admittance by the two heavily armed marines that were always stationed in the corridor.

Gesturing for the two to take a seat, Clements sat down behind the oak desk that was part of the large office off to one side of his personnel quarters. "So what have you two found that was so important to drag you both away from your busy schedules?"

"We may have a serious security problem," General Collins began worriedly looking uneasily at the Admiral. "We know how the Cylons managed to penetrate Colonial security so thoroughly and bring down the Planetary Defense Networks. We also know how they managed to plant the virus programs in the fleet." He looked at General Abramson who continued.

"Over the past several days we have been getting scattered reports of people falling ill throughout the fleet from an unknown ailment that looks suspiciously like radiation poisoning. As of today, we have 68 known cases. While this is not a high number for the amount of people we have here, what drew it to our attention was the fact that these people all look alike."

General Abramson handed Admiral Clements a folder containing five photographs. "All the sick people exhibiting radiation sickness look like one of these five individuals. We had several of them brought over to the Sidon and used their advanced medical facilities to run some tests."

General Collins continued looking into Admiral Clement's eyes. "They are human Cylons. While their bodies and internal organs all show to be human, their nerve endings and spinal column have silicate cybernetic pathways that can only be attributed to Cylon origin!"

"The radiation from the gas cloud is what made them sick," General Abramson added. "I have interrogated a few of them. Some of them admit to being Cylons but most don't seem to know. They may be sleeper agents whose programs will be triggered by some unknown signal or occurrence."

"You say we have 68 of these human Cylons in the fleet," Admiral Clements said trying to digest this shocking information looking at the two Generals. This was beyond his wildest nightmares. Cylons that looked and acted like people! This could cause a panic with the civilians!

"Yes sir," General Abramson replied stone faced. "Just from the numbers we have here there must have been tens of thousands of these agents planted all over the Colonies and the fleet."

"No wonder they were able to launch such a successful attack against us," Admiral Clements said realizing how far the Cylon subterfuge had gone.

This was something the fleet hadn't been prepared for and also explained the sabotage of the Aurora that Admiral Anders had talked about back at the Boneyards. Admiral Clements spent several moments in thought as the other two waited. He wondered how they should deal with this latest problem; the easiest solution would be just to airlock all the human Cylons. What would happen when the civilians found out about this? It could really cause some unrest in the civilian fleet.

"If any civilian ships are found by our Gunstars, I want our marines to check every individual against these photographs," Admiral Clements ordered examining the photographs carefully one by one. "Our Gunstars should begin reporting back shortly."

It was at that moment that Admiral Clements com unit buzzed. "Sir," Captain Reed's youthful vibrant voice came across. "The Gunstar Hestia has jumped into orbit. They report they have some survivors on board they rescued from a passenger liner that was under attack from two Cylon heavy raiders. They destroyed the raiders and then took the survivors off the passenger liner."

"Very well," Admiral Clements replied looking at General Abramson. "Have the Gunstar commander report to me and have the civilians unloaded aboard the Aurora for now."

"General Abramson," I want those survivors checked for Cylon agents."

"Yes sir," Abramson replied standing up. "What about those we have already found that are in our sickbays and hospitals.

"Have them isolated in one location. I want them placed under very heavy guard. If there is a problem, they are to be eliminated without hesitation. We can't risk our safety," Admiral Clements ordered with a grim look upon his face. "Monitor the affects of the radiation on them and keep me informed. Continue your interrogations and see if you can fine out any useful information. For now, I want their existence kept a secret from the civilians until we know more. I don't want to panic them, they have been through enough."

Later after talking with Major Stokes, Admiral Clements knew that they were probably not going to find any more civilian ships. The Cylons evidently were using their long-range heavy raiders to search all the nearby star systems. The safest thing for them to do once all the Gunstars returned, would be to stay inside the protective confines of the gas cloud until they were truly ready to engage the Cylons. After the Hestia's engagement with the two Cylon heavy raiders, the Cylons might realize that something was going on. He didn't want to risk the Cylons following one of the Gunstars back. He was also relieved to hear that no other Cylon agents were found among the passenger liner's crew and passengers

**DAY THIRTY FIVE**

**DEEP SHELTER BASE **

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton sat in his office inside Deep Shelter Base reading the latest communications intercepts, as well as the results of the final interrogations of their four prisoners.

"So they are Cylons," General Ashton commented, somehow not feeling surprised as he scanned the information that their interrogations had produced. It explained so much!

"Yes it would seem so," Colonel Edwards replied with a slight nod of his head. He had been stunned when he had first heard the results from the doctors who had run the tests. "They are a human based Cylon with silicate nerve endings. That is nearly the only difference between them and a real human. The silicate nerve endings help to give them more strength and speed then a normal human. It seems they infiltrated the Colonies in large numbers. They may have used thousands perhaps tens of thousands of infiltrators over the years to get into positions that allowed them to affectively riddle our military and civilian infrastructure with agents. They have been placed in medical stasis pods and put into a coma induced sleep until we decide what to do with them."

"That would explain the failure of our fleet systems as well as the Planetary Defenses," Major Rice commented shaking his head in disbelief at what they had discovered. "How could we have ever expected something like this? Human Cylons!"

"According to the blonde, there were five models used to infiltrate the Colonies," Edwards continued, he had set in on many of the interrogations. "One of them seems to have gotten close to Gaius Baltar and planted a backdoor in his new CNP navigation program. They used that to take out the fleet and many of the major bases that used the program to plot ship courses. Because of Baltar's access to Caprica's Defense Mainframe this blonde Cylon was also able to place a backdoor in it as well so when the Cylon Basestars showed up over Caprica, it shut down."

"We never stood a chance!" Major Rice said with dismay. "They must have done this all over the Twelve Colonies. No wonder all the defense grids failed!"

"We should have been able to detect their interference," General Ashton spoke with a trace of anger in his voice. "If our defense budget hadn't been cut so much over the last few administrations, we would have had systems in place to stop just this type of infiltration. We had expressed our concern numerous times to the civilian appropriations committee about not having sufficient firewalls in place to protect sensitive equipment and installations. But their only response was to remind us that we hadn't seen a Cylon in decades and probably never would see one again, so they continually turned us down."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes as they finished reading the reports in front of them.

"We should have the Primary Energizer on line in another week," Colonel Edwards stated looking up from the report he had just finished reading.

"Good," General Ashton replied leaning back in his chair and eyeing the two men across from him. Once the energizer is on line, I want to turn this base into a Planetary Defense Center. I want kinetic rail guns installed and heavy missile launching platforms. I want to make this base impregnable to attack!"

Colonel Edwards and Major Rice looked at each other realizing the mammoth undertaking the General was proposing. They didn't even know if it was possible.

"That will take time sir," Colonel Edwards replied slowly. "A lot of time."

"We will also have to manufacture and build a lot of the systems from scratch. We may not have everything we need here at the base," Major Rice added shaking his head doubtful that they could do what the General wanted.

"If we want to take on the Cylons, we must be prepared. I want this base as heavily fortified as possible," General Ashton reiterated looking at the two officers. "If we have to send out some scavenging crews to get equipment that we need then so be it. Have four of our raptors set up for stealth operations; we have the capability for that. If we need specialized equipment or weapons, make a list and we will see if we can get them from some of the outlying areas. There are some small military and civilian installations that received only minor damage. Once we know exactly what we need we may hit these installations quickly and take what we need. They will probably have a few Cylon Centurions on guard but we can take them out with minimal risk."

"If we do something like that, the Cylons will realize that a military force has survived on Caprica," Colonel Edwards warned his forehead creasing with a frown. "Even stealth raptors can be seen visually. They will have to be camouflaged and extreme caution will have to be used on all scavenging missions. Even then, there is no guarantee of success."

"They are going to find out about us eventually," General Ashton replied leaning forwards and looking intently at the two men. "We just need to be ready for them. There are twelve thousand highly trained men and women in this base. Utilize them to get this done!"

With that, the three got down to business and spent most of the rest of the day working out plans and setting up a tentative work schedule for the base. They had a lot to do and this would help to give the base personnel something to keep them busy, very busy.

**IONIAN NEBULA**

**ASTEROID REANDEVOUZ**

Major Davidson watched attentively from the Battlestar Altair as the six heavy tugs from the Boneyards maneuvered carefully around a large asteroid. They had chosen this particular asteroid to bring back and make into a new colony. The asteroid was massive, measuring nearly thirty kilometers in length and slightly over fifteen kilometers wide. It was larger then they needed but once they had it back, they would use pulse lasers to carve it down to the size they wanted. They had searched for nearly five days until they found a suitable asteroid. They had found many large asteroids in this area of this system's asteroid field and the one currently below them seemed to be the best candidate. It had taken them nearly eight days just to get the big tugs out to this location.

Currently several large view screens were focused on the asteroid but not much could be seen. Not a lot of light from the system's sun penetrated the gas cloud this far out. The Altair and five other Columbia Two Class Battlestars were focusing huge spotlights upon the asteroid to help illuminate the work that was being done.

Currently a number of large shuttles had landed on the asteroid and their crews were drilling deep into its crust. Huge anchors were being placed deep within so the tugs could be securely attached to the asteroid. Once that was done, the current slow rotation of the asteroid would be arrested and then the tugs would start boosting the asteroid out of its orbit and onto a new course. It would be necessary to refuel the tugs at least three times just to get the asteroid's speed up to where it would arrive in a reasonable amount of time. The biggest problem was that they couldn't use the tugs massive motors at full thrust. To do so would cause the Tylium residue to react with the radioactive gas of the nebula. Because of this, a more moderate long-term thrust would have to do.

Each Battlestar had a small Tylium tanker on board full of fuel. Even so, it would take the asteroid nearly seventy days to reach its destination. Major Davidson planned to leave two Battlestars with the tugs and asteroid. That way if something went wrong, the tugs and their crews could be rescued. In addition, the two Battlestars would have additional fuel if the tugs required it. Major Davidson knew that it would probably be necessary to make several course corrections as time went by.

For long hours, the work continued until finally the tugs approached the anchors. Four were attached to one end of the asteroid. They would provide the initial boost to move the asteroid out of its orbit. The other two were located at the midpoint of the asteroid on opposite sides. They would be used to stabilize the asteroid and keep it on its course and prevent it from tumbling. Because the asteroid was not a stable smooth object, adjustments would have to be made almost daily on its trip back.

Once the tugs were firmly attached, the Battlestars and shuttles backed off. The shuttles stayed close ready to rescue the tugs crews if it became necessary. At the given moment, the two stabilizing tugs began firing their engines slowing the asteroid's rotation. In a little over three hours, the asteroid was stable. Final calculations were made and the four boosting tugs fired their engines. For six hours, their engines blasted away at medium power as the two stabilizing tugs fought to maintain the asteroid's stability. Slowly at first and then more rapidly the asteroid moved out of its orbit and began to move toward its destination. At that point, the tugs shut off their engines.

For eight hours, the Altair carefully monitored the slow progress of the asteroid. During this time, the small Tylium tankers refueled the tugs.

For the next four days the asteroid was boosted along on its course, as soon as a boost was complete the new course and speed would be carefully checked. Finally satisfied, Major Davidson had the tugs refueled one final time and all the remaining Tylium fuel transferred to two Tylium tankers. These were sent to the two Battlestars that were to remain. For another two days, the Altair paced the asteroid. Everything seemed to be in order and going as planned. The Altair and the other three Battlestars that were to accompany her then set course for home. A few moments later, they had left the asteroid behind as the Battlestars rapidly accelerated away.

**DAY FORTY FIVE**

**CYLON COMMAND SHIP**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

"We know what the humans and the Galactica are after," the blonde number Six said looking around the group. "We know what they were searching for on Kobol."

"They search for Earth, the lost Thirteenth Tribe," the number Eight replied worriedly looking back at the Six.

"That's only a myth, the Thirteenth Tribe doesn't exist," Cavil said with a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

"But what if it does exist," Simon replied looking over at Cavil concerned. "Commander Adama is no fool. If they do succeed in finding this missing Thirteenth Tribe they could return with a war fleet and attack us for what we have done to them!"

"They would seek revenge," Biers said with worry in her voice. She had agreed with the original attack, but this was something she had not counted on. "They will show no mercy, they will attempt to wipe us out. Their fury at what we have done to them will be unrelenting!"

Cavil was silent for a moment. They had not succeeded yet in finding the Pegasus, those mysterious Gunstars that had been searching the star systems for survivors, nor the Sidon mining colony, and worst of all there had been no word from Darien. But of all the threats, the Galactica probably posed the largest. If Adama did manage to find this lost Thirteenth Tribe and if they were truly advanced, even as advanced as what the Colonies had been, then the Galactica could indeed pose a very serious threat if they were to someday return.

"Very well then here is what I propose," Cavil stated coming to a decision. "We will split our fleet. We will take the Command Basestar and one third of our remaining fleet and pursue the Galactica. If she does manage to find this Thirteenth Tribe, we will have the forces we need to destroy it before they can arm themselves and attack us. We will also take sufficient resurrection ships in case they are needed."

The other Cylons debated Cavil's proposal, but in the end agreed that it was the best course of action. They would place the Colonies and the rest of the fleet under their seconds in command. Then they would set off in pursuit of the Galactica and their precious Thirteenth Tribe.

**DEEP SHELTER BASE **

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton stood in the massive Command Center of the base. He and Colonel Edwards stood on an elevated area where they could overlook the entire Center. The far wall in front of them was covered with numerous large HD view screens with an enormous Dradis screen in the center. For now, nearly all the screens were blank. A few showed scenic views from outside the base, the others were either dark or covered with static. On the floor of the Center, key personnel manned numerous consoles as they waited for their orders. For days, the personnel had been working learning all the complexities of this new base and this new Command Center. Some of the consoles were fully operational and were keyed in to essential base operations as well as the bases growing defensive and offensive capabilities. There were currently nearly 100 people in the Command Center.

"The main energizer is on line and operating normally," Colonel Edwards reported as he scanned the latest report on power availability from a console in front of him. "Our latest tests indicate the energizer is functioning within expectations and we have plenty of power, the Secondary Energizer has been placed on standby and will kick in automatically in case of a failure of the Primary."

"Then we are finally ready to begin operations," General Ashton said satisfied as he looked over the large Command Center. "Open up a secure subspace com link to the surviving orbiting surveillance satellites and let's see what we have, see what the Cylons have left us."

The subspace link would be untraceable and even if the Cylons noticed someone had accessed the satellites, they wouldn't be able to determine whom and where they were located. Around Caprica orbited a number of large communication and planetary surveillance satellites. In peacetime, these satellites were used to monitor weather, air traffic, and to closely scan the planetary surface for potential natural disasters. The main communication satellites were capable of reaching any of the Twelve Colonies, their moons, and other research and mining operations within the Star System.

Colonel Edwards sat down at his command console and pressed several buttons, within moments he was in communication with a number of people on the floor as they prepared to access the satellite net. Almost immediately, screens on the huge wall begin to clear and show views of Caprica. There was silence in the huge room as everyone looked at the screens seeing for the first time just what damage the Cylons had done to their planet.

One screen was focused on Caprica City, or what remained of the Planetary Capital. Part of the city had been devastated by a nuclear strike. Other screens showed other major cities similarly devastated but a few screens showed several large cities relatively intact. The largest being the city of Delphi.

"Sir, one of the satellites is showing a lot of strange activity in Caprica City, it's showing large power emissions and what seems to be construction activity," Colonel Edwards reported not understanding the implications.

"Put it up on a screen," General Ashton ordered turning his attention to one of the large view screens.

Instantly a large screen switched to a close up view of Caprica City.

"The Cylons are rebuilding it," Colonel Edwards said stunned. "What the frak are they up to?"

"They're Cylons," General Ashton replied as he gazed at the screen. "Who knows what their reasoning is." They continued to watch for a few minutes in silence.

"Let's see if we can access any of the orbiting Dradis satellites, find out what assets the Cylons currently have in orbit," General Ashton ordered.

A few seconds later the large Dradis screen came on, several secondary Dradis screens next to it also flashed on.

"We are using passive scans only," Colonel Edwards reported. "The Cylons shouldn't be able to detect them. I can't believe they didn't take out all the satellites."

A few minutes later, they had their answer. Six Cylon Basestars and four other large ships were in orbit. They were spaced around the planet to cover all the space lanes as well as to be able to keep a watchful eye on any surface activity.

"That's a lot of firepower," Edwards said surprised at the number of Cylon ships in orbit. The Dradis screens also showed a lot of traffic between the orbiting ships and the surface of Caprica. "Those four Support Ships look like the old Cylon Hades Basestars but only bigger."

"I want surface scans made to search for any survivors, let's find out how many of our people survived," General Ashton ordered not liking all the Cylon traffic. He suspected many of those Cylon shuttles were carrying Centurions. "Make absolutely certain that we keep everything in passive mode, don't run any scans in active. I don't want the Cylons to realize we're here or that we have activated the orbiting satellites."

"Yes sir," Colonel Edwards replied.

A few hours later Colonel Edwards was in General Ashton's office, along with Major Rice and Captain Silkwood.

"We have run a preliminary scan of the surface," Colonel Edwards reported. "From what we have found, the Cylons hit Caprica with approximately twenty eight fifty Megaton nukes. The majority of the major cities have been leveled and large areas close to the cities are still contaminated by radiation. All major military and defense installations have also been hit. Many of these by smaller tactical nukes. It also looks like the Cylons used a lot of neutron weapons. That might explain why Delphi is still standing. Strangely enough the Cylons seem to be attempting to eradicate the radiation poisoning around some of the destroyed cities."

"Part of their rebuilding operation no doubt," General Ashton said as he looked over several sheets of paper and the information they contained. "They may be planning on colonizing Caprica themselves."

"They wouldn't dare," Major Rice spoke angrily. "Caprica is our world not theirs."

"They won the war," Colonel Edwards replied looking over at Major Rice. "They can do anything they want!"

"What about human survivors, there were eleven billion people on this planet, surely some of them survived?" General Ashton asked also not liking the idea of the Cylons moving in and acting as if Caprica was their property now.

Major Rice stood up and activated a large screen in the General's office. A large surface map of Caprica appeared. On it large red circles extended out from the majority of Caprica's major cities. Some of these overlapped and seemed to be spreading outwards.

"The Cylons are evidently carrying out mopping up operations against the surviving civilian population," Major Rice began. "Our passive scans have detected what appears to be large numbers of Cylon Centurions slowly advancing along these lines. We believe they are searching for survivors and eradicating them as they are found."

"Finishing what they started," Captain Silkwood murmured. "Our com system shows no Colonial civilian or military communication traffic. All the systems are quiet. If there are any Colonial military or civilians with com capabilities left they are staying off the air!"

"We could be the only military unit left in the Colonies," Major Rice stated quietly.

"I want to us to continue to scan the surface. See if we can locate survivors," General Ashton ordered standing up and walking over to the screen and gazing at it. "We must gather as much information as possible before we try to do anything to help any civilians that might have survived this holocaust."

**DAY 50**

**DEEP SHELTER BASE **

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton sat in his office studying the latest reports of scans of the surface of the planet.

"Are we sure of this?" he asked as he looked at a photograph of one of the larger World Parks. The photograph had been taken at night from a high-resolution satellite. The photograph showed hundreds if not thousands of what looked like small campfires throughout the park!

"There is not doubt sir," replied Captain Silkwood looking down at the photograph. "Thousands of refugees are pouring into the World Parks. For now the parks are the only really safe places from the Cylons, plus they are relatively free of radiation poisoning."

"The Cylons are still focusing their extermination efforts around the larger population centers," Major Rice reported bringing up the map of Caprica on the main screen in the General's office. "As you can see from the map they are slowly expanding the areas they control."

"We estimate that the Cylons must have several hundred thousand Centurions operating in this fashion with more landing all the time," Colonel Edwards added. "It will only be a matter of a few months at the outside before they begin entering the parks. Fortunately most of the parks are in remote wilderness areas and the Cylons are pretty much ignoring them for now."

"How many civilians do you estimate have taken refuge in the parks?" General Ashton asked looking at all the bright points that indicated campfires.

"Several hundred thousand at least," Major Rice said. "Thermal scans we took at night show a lot of people in the parks and more arriving daily."

"Food will be a problem shortly," General Ashton said thoughtfully staring at the screen deep in thought. "The few hunting lodges and cabins scattered around can't support that number. If any of them are armed it will be with civilian hunting rifles and those will be useless against the Cylons."

"What do you suggest sir?" Colonel Edwards asked. "We're not ready to openly engage the Cylons."

"Do we know what supplies we need to complete our defenses?" General Ashton asked. "What surviving facilities survived that we could raid if we need to?

"Yes sir," Major Rice reported picking up a report he had brought with him. "We have scanned the entire surface, especially areas that we could access. We have found a number of small facilities intact. There is an electronics facility that produced computers and systems for the fleet. We have found several small weapons depots that are untouched and a small missile production facility that looks to be undamaged."

General Ashton thought for several moments. "Find some food for those people. There must be some military rations stored somewhere that we can hit. They won't taste great but the civilians will survive. I want as many weapons as we can lay our hands on. We need to arm those civilians as heavily as possible. Also any camping gear that we can locate. It's going to get cold soon and camping out in those parks won't be fun. From the reports you have shown me, we have fourteen large World Parks that the civilians are fleeing to. I want plans made to place 4,000 of our Marines in those parks. We can train and arm some of those civilians plus provide them some protection from the Cylons."

Colonel Edwards and Major Rice looked at each other for a moment before Colonel Edwards responded. "That will pretty well reveal to the Cylons that there is an organized resistance here on Caprica. That will surely set them looking for us. It may also cause them to target the parks, possibly with nukes!"

"I am aware of that Colonel," General Ashton replied raising his eyebrows. "But when we hit all those supply depots and facilities to get the supplies we need, they are going to figure that out anyway. We will continue to arm this base and make it as impregnable as possible. At some point in time, the Cylons will figure out where we are, and when they do, I want to be ready for them. In addition, many of those civilians could be very useful here at the base. We have facilities to house nearly 25,000 people. If we find people that could be useful to us, we need to have them brought here."

"Very well sir," Colonel Edwards replied looking at Major Rice and Captain Silkwood. "We will check the scans for other facilities that might contain useful supplies. We can have a plan drawn up sometime late tomorrow."

"Very well," General Ashton said rising. "We have a lot of civilians to save so let's get to it!"


	13. Chapter 13

**DAY 60**

**DEEP SHELTER BASE **

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton and Colonel Edwards were in the Command Center. Looking at the Dradis screen there were only two Cylon Basestars currently in orbit. This was what they had been waiting for. The Support Ships had left the day before, probably returning to Cylon space for more Centurions. It was night outside. They were about to hit a number of intact facilities they had carefully chosen. It would give them the needed supplies to complete their defenses as well as to aid the civilians they had located in the parks.

In high orbit around Caprica, several small satellites began to emit a slight static interference that would blind the two Cylon Basestars. The interference would be similar to that emitted by intense solar radiation. They hoped the Cylons would not become overtly suspicious. While it would not completely blind the Cylon systems, it would reduce their ability to detect the raptors and Nomad Assault Shuttles that were leaving the base to hit their assigned targets.

After a few minutes, Major Rice turned from his control console to report. "No evidence that the Cylons have detected our raptors and shuttles,"

"Very well," General Ashton replied. "Order the strikes to commence."

Captain Sims and Lieutenant James were in a raptor that was very rapidly approaching a small ammunition depot. While small in Colonial terms when compared to the massive Anchorages and major fleet depots that supplied the fleet, it was still of substantial size to contain almost everything they needed. The depot should contain point defense shells, small interceptor missiles, missile launching platforms, and multitudes of small arms and ammunition. There was also a storage facility for fleet rations, which could be dispersed to the civilians. There were two raptors in the lead assault on this facility. Each contained a squad of eight heavily armed marines. They would land first and take out the Cylon perimeter Centurions. Behind them two Nomad Assault Shuttles with 50 marines each, would follow up to help clear the facility of Centurions.

"Touch down in one minute," Lieutenant Sarah James reported as the raptor arrowed toward the base. The ground below was dark and no lights were visible. Sarah was glad, she was afraid of what might be below them. Empty farmhouses, burnt out towns, and who knew what else from the Cylon attack. The raptor was flying just slightly above the ground with all systems carefully shielded to prevent detection.

The depot was spread out over a square kilometer of level ground. The raptor set down on one edge of the compound and the door slid silently open. The ramp descended silently to touch the ground. The heavily armed marines swarmed down taking up positions outside the raptor. The other raptor sat down on the opposite side of the depot.

"Jamming of outgoing signals commencing," Lieutenant Wilson reported as he activated his jamming equipment. "Hopefully the Cylons will just assume any communication problems are the result of an increase in solar activity."

"Let's go people," Sergeant Rush ordered as his marines scanned the area around the raptor with their night vision goggles. Instantly the marines vanished into the night.

"I hope this works," Sarah said as she moved to the top of the ramp a heavy assault rifle cradled in her arms. She had put on a pair of night vision goggles so she could see in the dark. As near as she could tell the area immediately around the shuttle was clear. The marines had already disappeared around the nearest building.

"It has to," Captain Sims replied coming to stand by Sarah with a large assault rifle in his arms. "If we want to fight the Cylons openly we need these supplies. This will be our only chance at this, that's why tonight's raids are so large; it's a one-time deal. After we are through the Cylons will know we exist. All the surviving facilities will be placed under much heavier guard or the Cylons will destroy them. They will definitely begin searching for us after tonight!"

The marines moved stealthily through the base. Sergeant Rush paused as he spotted two Cylon Centurions standing guard in front of one of the underground bunkers that contained munitions. Motioning two of his men forwards, they took careful aim with their assault rifles and the two Cylons dropped. The shots had been quiet as the assault rifles were equipped with top of the line silencers. The squad moved quickly through the base taking out the Cylon guards quickly. The Cylons had not been expecting an attack but even so, a sudden breakout of heavy weapons fire from the other side of the facility indicated the other team had been detected.

"Bring in the backups," Sergeant Rush ordered over his short-range com system, which kept him in constant contact with the raptor.

Two minutes latter two heavily armed Nomad Assault Shuttles landed and their marines came flooding down the ramp splitting up into platoons. They quickly moved to their assigned targets. Within ten minutes, the base was secure. They had eliminated 22 Cylon Centurions. Moments later large transport shuttles began to land in front of their designated loading sites. In minutes, the underground bunkers were open and supplies and munitions were being hauled out as rapidly as possible.

For the remainder of the night the shuttles came and went stripping the facility of its weapons, munitions, and supplies. It was just 30 minutes before dawn when the last shuttle returned to their mountain base laden with the last supplies from the depot as it flew through the camouflage field to sit safely back down.

General Ashton breathed a sigh of relief as the last shuttle and raptor landed. They had managed to strip two ammunition depots completely, securing enough ammunition to last for several years at least. They had also hit a missile production facility obtaining a number of medium range Assault missiles that could be used to hit Basestars in low orbit. They had also secured a large number of fixed and mobile missile launchers. They had hit an electronics depot that manufactured and stored computer systems and electronics used on fleet ships. They had also hit several small facilities that contained massive amounts of fleet rations as well as survival equipment. They also managed to acquire another eight raptors that were stored at one of the facilities. Overall General Ashton was very pleased with the operation.

"Any sign the Cylons have found us?" General Ashton asked looking at the screens, which showed the area around the hidden base.

"Nothing yet," Major Rice replied studying his console and speaking to several other officers over his mini com. "However Captain Silkwood is reporting a sudden increase in Cylon communication. They may be suspecting this interference is not natural."

"Very well shut down the satellites, we might as well find out what their response is going to be," General Ashton ordered stifling a yawn. It had been a long and extremely tense night. "Keep the base at Condition One alert until we see how this goes down."

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

"They did what!" James Cavil roared as the reports began to come in from the surface of Caprica. His brother John was gone, off in pursuit of the Galactica and Darien was still of chasing those mysterious Titans and the survivors that had escaped with them.

"The Centurions are reporting at least six facilities hit and completely cleaned out," the blonde Cylon replied. "Over 140 Centurions were destroyed in the attacks!"

"But who did this? There are no armed groups left on the planet!" a Doral model spoke looking confused. "Their military was completely wiped out!"

"Evidently there is," a female Eight replied frowning. "This points to a highly organized and well armed military facility still existing somewhere on the planet. From the thoroughness of the attack, I would guess we have a large marine group still intact somewhere with a high ranking officer in command. A very large marine group equipped with heavy weapons, raptors, and Assault Shuttles, a lot of Assault Shuttles to be able to carry out what they did."

"We must find them immediately and eliminate them," a Simon model spoke from where he was standing with his hands in the information stream. "None of our Centurions at any of the facilities managed to get off a warning. These people were very efficient and deadly!"

"They will be well hidden," the only Leoben model in the Command Center spoke. "If not we would already have found them."

"Then we wait for them to make a mistake," a female Biers model said walking across the room and placing her hands in the information stream as if she was searching for some tidbit of information that might hint at who had attacked them. "They wouldn't have seized all this equipment and munitions if they didn't plan on using them. I suggest we let them make the next move. We now know of their existence. We will watch and wait for them to make a mistake and when they do, we will strike. We can take out their base from orbit with our Basestars. The humans were foolish to reveal themselves in this manner."

"Perhaps, but it will require more ships in orbit to be able to monitor the entire surface. When they poke their heads out of their hole we will have them," James said pointedly, upset and feeling anger over what these humans had done. "We will take out their base from orbit with a well placed nuke!"

The human Cylons debated for a few more minutes and decided on their course of action. They would consolidate the areas they currently held on the surface of Caprica. Increased guards would be placed at other facilities that might be tempting targets for this unknown group. At least three Cylon Basestars would be kept in orbit around Caprica at all times. They would play a waiting game. They could afford to. They had far superior numbers on the ground with more Cylon Centurions on the way. They had superior firepower with the Basestars. Yes, they could wait and eliminate this threat when it was located. While this was a slight setback in their elimination of the humans on Caprica, it would only delay the inevitable by a few more months.

**DEEP SHELTER BASE**

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton and the others were in his office as the final reports came in.

"We have nearly everything we need," "General Ashton said pleased with the results they had achieved in the raids.

"I still can't believe we succeeded so easily," Colonel Edwards replied. "We suffered only six casualties and eight wounded while taking out over 100 Cylon Centurions."

"To the friends and family of the six who died that is six to many," General Ashton said sadly. "But we are at war and I fear there will more casualties to come, a lot more unfortunately."

"So what do we do now?" Major Rice asked.

"We need to come up with a plan to get some of these supplies to the civilians out in the parks and see what we can do to defend them," General Ashton replied somberly. "We will finish the defenses for this base first, but we must begin to help those civilians as soon as possible. Starvation will start to reduce their numbers very shortly! I want everyone to get some rest, we will meet tomorrow to start planning, it has been a long night!"

**DAY 70**

**GUNSTAR HESTIA**

**CAPRICA SYSTEM**

The Gunstar Hestia jumped into the Caprica system. The Hestia had spent nearly a month at the Nexus shipyard having her ECM systems updated as much as possible and doing everything imaginable to make the Gunstar immune to detection. Even her jump drive had extra shielding to reduce the energy emission signature from her jumps.

"Report," Major Stokes ordered as the ship's systems stabilized and Caprica's sun appeared on the main view screen. He felt strange jumping back into the Caprica system knowing that this was now Cylon territory.

"Dradis is clear," Lieutenant Evans reported as the screen cleared and showed no contacts.

"Launch the satellite," Major Stokes ordered. They were delivering a special communications relay satellite that had been constructed on the Sidon. The satellite would be able to access the communications relay satellites throughout the Colonies and hopefully be able to intercept Cylon communications. The satellite was equipped with ECM equipment and constructed of materials that would make it very difficult to detect. It would send a flash message once a day to a distant satellite in another star system, which in turn would transmit to another and so on. A series of six satellites, designed to prevent the Cylons from detecting the signal and tracing it back to its destination. The final recipient would be a satellite sitting in open space between several stars that would decode the intercepts and hold them for delivery.

Once a week the Battlestar Caprica or one of the Gunstars would make the trip to the satellite and upload the intercepts and take them back to Admiral Clements. They needed to know what the Cylons were doing in the Colonies and this seemed to be the best way without endangering their ships.

"Satellite deployed and activated," Captain Bryant reported. "ECM activated and the satellite has disappeared from Dradis."

"Excellent," Major Stokes replied pleased. "Dradis still clear?"

"Yes sir," the Dradis operator reported. "No sign that the Cylons know we're here."

"Very well let's execute our next jump and get out of here," Major Stokes ordered taking one last long look at Caprica's yellow star that glowed in the distance.

A few minutes later, the Hestia jumped and went on to her next destination. A satellite was to be placed in each of the three star systems that comprised the Twelve Colonies.

**DAY 75**

**CRYSTAL FALLS WORLD PARK**

**CAPRICA**

The two Nomad Assault Shuttles landed stealthily in the dead of night. Four more Cascade Marine Support Shuttles also landed. For the past five days, the shuttles had been gone over by highly trained engineers increasing their ECM abilities and making sure their systems were as difficult to detect as possible.

Two hundred marines swarmed out of the shuttles. Two platoons moved quickly out to set up a defensive perimeter. Another group of marines hurriedly began placing special camouflage netting over one of the Nomad Assault Shuttles. The shuttle was equipped with two twin point defense turrets and two air defensive missile racks holding six interceptor missiles each. This special netting made it virtually impossible to see or detect the shuttle or its emissions while it was on the ground.

In the cover of the large trees, small buildings were hurriedly erected and covered with more of the valuable camouflage netting. Four Landram Personnel Carriers with a heavy cannon and two twin rapid fire small arms turrets were placed strategically around the ground base to provide both fire support and protection. Six medium mobile missile launchers capable of taking out Cylon raiders or even Cylon heavy raiders were placed strategically around the base.

Massive amounts of supplies were finally unloaded from the Cascade Shuttles and placed in the newly erected shelters. Just prior to dawn, one of the Nomad Assault Shuttles and the four Cascade Marine Support Shuttles lifted off and returned to base. They would return that night with the remainder of the supplies and a special raptor that would be left behind to help deliver supplies to the civilians living in the park.

Once the base was completed, 400 marines would stay behind. One hundred and twenty would man and protect the base. The others would fan out and begin searching for civilians. Once any civilians had been contacted, the marines would send word back to the base as to what supplies were needed. The civilians would then be evaluated to see if any could be useful back at Deep Shelter Base or could be trained to use heavy weapons. The Cylons were unaware of what was happening. The next move against them was well underway.

**DAY 110**

**IONIAN NEBULA**

Lieutenant Sarah Wells and her wingman Lieutenant Mathew Geller flew in a slow lazy orbit around the newly arrived asteroid that now set stationary 10,000 kilometers from the Sidon mining colony. "That's one fraking large rock," Lieutenant Geller commented as he looked down at the jagged and cratered asteroid.

"Hard to believe that shortly it will look like the Sidon," Sarah replied as she banked her viper to get a better view.

"It sure will be nice to have all that extra living space," Mathew said looking through the cockpit window toward Sarah's viper. He could just barely see her. "I would hate to be living on one of those civilian ships; some of them are very crowded."

"I know," Sarah replied. "I have had to go aboard several for inspections, but if all goes according to plan we can start moving them into this new colony within eight months."

"That's still eight months the civilians have to live on those ships," Mathew commented glad he wasn't in one of them.

"They will be working on the asteroid around the clock with three separate shifts," Sarah replied looking at a small mountain that must rise nearly 2,000 meters on one section of the asteroid. "A lot of the civilians on the ships will be helping."

"Have you heard what they are going to name the new colony?" Mathew asked.

"I heard they are going to call her New Haven," Sarah replied as she turned her viper to continue on their patrol.

Aboard the Aurora, Admiral Clements looked at the large view screen in his office, which showed the massive asteroid. Several tugs were still attached to it to insure that it stayed in its proper orbit. The rest of the people who were now part of the General Staff were in attendance.

"You say we can complete construction in eight months!" Clements said surprised at the latest construction estimates.

"Yes sir," General Collins replied with a nod. "Mayor Patterson and I have gone carefully over the numbers. With our people and with the resources we have available plus the civilian workforce it can be done."

"That's great," Admiral Clements replied with obvious relief in his eyes. "The sooner we can get those civilians off those ships the better off we all will be."

"The civilians have set up a temporary civilian government under the leadership of Governor Anderlen of Virgon. He is the highest surviving member of the Colonial government," General Collins reported.

"Governor Anderlen," Clements replied with an edge of concern in his voice. "If I remember correctly he was very supportive of the defense cuts made by President Adar."

"I don't think that is going to be a problem sir," General Collins stated. "Mayor Patterson has met with him and he seems to be a very reasonable man. According to Patterson, Governor Anderlen will not be a problem and will give the civilians a decent government. He was doing a really good job on Virgon other then his stand on the defense budget."

"Very well, why don't we set up a meeting with Governor Anderlen, get him included in what we're doing as long as it doesn't violate military security. A responsible civilian government could be very useful, particularly in dealing with some of the problems we will face in the future. Now what about the asteroid?" Clements asked.

"We do want to make one major change," General Collins said. "I have been talking to Mayor Patterson, Admiral Stockwell, Admiral Anders, and Colonel Peterson. As you know, we have four large docking bays on the Sidon for our Gunstars. We had talked about doing the same thing for the New Haven colony but we think we have a better use for that space."

"What do you have in mind?" Admiral Clements asked looking curiously at General Collins.

"We want to build four construction bays capable of building the new Titan Class Gunstar," General Collins said surprising Admiral Clements. "The Titan Class will be much better armed then our current classes and we estimate we can build up to four per year with the people we currently have. Both the Sidon and the Nexus shipyards have the complete specs for the new Gunstar."

"The Boneyards and the Nexus shipyard can build new ships but that's not what they were built for," Colonel Peterson added. "By building actual construction facilities in the asteroid we can speed up new construction considerably."

"Where will we get all the specialized equipment to build these construction bays?" Admiral Clements asked knowing that construction shipyards used very specialized equipment in their ship manufacturing processes. "I know that we can probably build a lot of it but we are talking about some very heavy and specialized equipment."

"We begin by dismantling the Boneyards," Admiral Anders replied surprising Admiral Clements with the suggestion. "As soon as we are through refurbishing the rest of our warships, we can start transferring equipment. We will keep the bay operating where we are building the new Jupiter Class Battlestar but the rest of the complex can be disassembled and the equipment transferred."

"That will still leave us the Nexus shipyard to repair damaged ships," Colonel Peterson finished. "We will be moving two of the Boneyards large bays to the Nexus Shipyard as well as four of the smaller bays affectively doubling our repair capability."

"That sounds like a good plan," Admiral Clements said after thinking about it for a moment. "I am familiar with the plans for the Titan Class Gunstar and it would be a better class then our current Gunstar fleet, but that still doesn't explain why you need to disassemble almost the entire Boneyard?"

That's easy," Mike Patterson joined in looking at Admiral Clements. "We want to send the tugs and the Columbia Two Battlestars back out to get us another asteroid. We want to build a third colony and build additional construction bays on it."

"For more Gunstars?" Admiral Clements asked. He would have liked some heavier ships, even Battlestars.

"No sir," Admiral Stockwell replied. "We want to build the Repulse Class Firestar. She is larger, heavier armed, and can carry more vipers then the current class."

"The Repulse Class," Admiral Clements said thoughtfully. It was the class that the Admiralty had wanted to construct instead of the Gunstars. However, the civilian government had overruled the military and had settled on the smaller Gunstars instead. He knew that the Repulse Class was nearly as large as a Columbia Class Battlestar. "Very well, I can see that you have all thought this through. I do want detailed reports from each of you on these plans. While we do have considerable resources available, we must make sure we are using them wisely. Does anyone have any further questions or suggestions?"

"Our Cylon prisoners have revealed a lot of information under questioning," General Collins said handing Admiral Clements a thick folder. Of the 68 prisoners, only 18 knew they were Cylons. The rest all thought they were Colonial citizens."

Admiral Clements had already been partially briefed about the contents of the folder earlier by Sidon station security.

"This ability of theirs to resurrect is frightening," Admiral Clements said looking around at the group. "If you kill one of these human Cylons then everything they know will be revealed to their superiors as soon as they download."

"That's correct," General Collins said nodding. "However we believe that the radiation from the radiation cloud we are in prevents that. That's why none of the Cylons have tried to take their own lives; they know they are trapped here."

"How are they doing on the Sidon, are we sure that they are secure in the new detention facilities?" Admiral Anders asked looking at General Collins.

"Due to the thickness of the Sidon's hull and the reactive armor she carries, none of the radiation penetrates, so all of our Cylon prisoners have recovered," General Collins reported. "The Cylons that didn't know they were Cylons haven't given us any useful information; however some of the other Cylons have been very cooperative. They seem to realize that if they die here they really die and have been willing to cooperate."

**DAY 118**

**IONIAN NEBULA**

Admiral Clements was in his office aboard the Aurora when he received an urgent com message from Captain Reed. Captain Reed had been working on decrypting the Cylon messages they were now intercepting in the Colonies from the communication satellites they had placed in each of the three star systems.

"Admiral we have finally broken the Cylon code," were her first words and he could tell she was extremely excited. "We need to meet immediately we have discovered some information that is almost unbelievable."

"Very well," Admiral Clements responded wondering just what she had found that could be so important. "I will summon the General Staff and we can meet in about an hour."

"That's great Admiral, you are not going to believe what we have found!" Captain Reed replied. "This may change everything!"

An hour later, the General Staff were seated in the conference room of the Battlestar with an excited Captain Reed standing before them.

"Well Captain," Admiral Clements started. "You seem excited enough about these communication intercepts, so what is it that you have discovered?"

Captain Reed took a moment to try to calm down. "As you all know we have been trying for several weeks now to break the Cylon codes. We got lucky and one of the human Cylons we hold captive agreed to give us the code if we would guarantee her future safety. We also had to guarantee there would be no reprisals against the Cylons we currently hold captive."

"I didn't agree to that," Admiral Clements replied with a frown. "We don't know what crimes these captives of ours may have committed.

"I agreed to it sir," General Collins interrupted glancing at the Admiral. "We did tell the Cylon that as long as no serious crimes had been committed by anyone in the group we hold captive that we would seriously consider her request."

"Very well," Admiral Clements replied. "Continue Captain Reed."

"Using the information the Cylon gave us we have been able to decode the Cylon messages," Captain Reed continued hardly able to contain her excitement. "We now know that the Battlestar Galactica escaped from Ragnar Anchorage!"

"The Galactica," Admiral Stockwell said surprised. "How could that old Battlestar survive the Cylon attack, I thought that the Cylons had finished her off at Ragnar?"

"Evidently her systems were not updated and were immune to the Cylon virus," Captain Reed continued. "She made it to Ragnar Anchorage and rearmed. Evidently, a number of civilian ships met up with her there also. The Galactica and the civilian fleet she was protecting managed to escape."

"Bill Adama is out there someplace with a civilian fleet!" Admiral Clements said leaning forwards wondering how the frak Adama had managed that.

"There is more sir," Captain Reed paused almost dramatically. "The Cylons are chasing the Galactica; they found her at the planet Kobol!"

"Kobol!" Admiral Anders exclaimed his eyes widening in disbelief. "How did they find Kobol, the planet's location was lost centuries ago!"

"I don't know sir," Captain Reed replied. "But the Galactica has left Kobol and the Cylons have sent almost a quarter of their fleet chasing after her. For some reason the Cylons are very worried about the Galactica and where she is heading."

"And where is that," Colonel Peterson asked sounding confused. "There is nowhere for the Galactica to go."

"Earth," Mike Patterson said almost quietly. "Commander Adama is searching for Earth and the Thirteenth Tribe."

"Earth, that is only a legend," Admiral Stockwell said astonished at the suggestion. "There is no evidence that Earth or the Thirteenth Tribe ever existed."

"Not true sir," Mike Patterson responded. "There are a number of books written in the early days of the Colonies that speak of the Thirteenth Tribe and their journey to Earth."

"That's why the Cylons are after Adama with such a large portion of their fleet," Admiral Clements stated thoughtfully. "If Adama was to find Earth, he could bring back a war fleet to attack the Cylons; they can't afford to allow that to happen."

"Any idea where Adama and his fleet are now?" Mayor Patterson asked looking at Captain Reed.

"No sir," Captain Reed replied shaking her head. "The Cylons seem to have lost them after Kobol but they are still searching for the Galactica and her fleet."

"Anything else in the communication intercepts," Admiral Clements asked.

"Yes sir, a lot more," Captain Reed replied. "The Battlestar Pegasus also survived."

"The Pegasus!" Admiral Stockwell said shocked. "She was docked for maintenance and resupply at the Scorpion Shipyards just prior to the attack. I thought the ship was destroyed when the docks went up. Admiral Helena Cain is in command of that ship!"

"Evidently she escaped," Captain Reed replied looking at Admiral Stockwell. "The Pegasus has been hitting Cylon targets for weeks but has recently disappeared. The Cylons are worried that Admiral Cain may be searching for the Galactica."

"Adama could sure use Admiral Cains help if he is protecting a large group of civilians," Admiral Clements stated wondering just how the Pegasus would go about finding Adama. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Yes he could," stated Admiral Stockwell grimacing slightly. "But I don't know how Adama would take to Admiral Cains command style. That could spell serious trouble."

"We have also discovered a large resistance movement on Caprica," Captain Reed said dropping her next bombshell.

"On Caprica!" General Abramson said. "I thought all Colonial military units were wiped out, is this a civilian resistance group?"

"No sir," Captain Reed replied glancing down at a report she had brought with her. "From the Cylon intercepts it is a well organized marine unit. They hit about six supply depots a number of weeks back taking a large amount of weapons, ammunition, interceptor missiles, electronic parts, and food supplies. The Cylons have stopped their expansion on Caprica and are waiting for this group's next move. From what we can gather the Cylons currently control about 68 percent of the surface of Caprica and are currently consolidating that and bringing in massive reinforcements"

"If they took that many supplies then that hints that they have a very secure base somewhere," General Abramson replied thoughtfully trying to think just where on Caprica that could be. "It also sounds like a major commanding officer survived. The Cylons may be expecting a major ground battle to develop so they will want to consolidate the areas they currently control as well as bring in more troops."

"We need to look over our records and see if we can figure out where that base is," Admiral Clements stated wondering if there was some way they could exploit this information to their advantage. "If we have a very well organized resistance unit on Caprica, we need to find who is running it and see if we can contact them."

"We have a lot of records on the Sidon that Fleet Admiral Corman supplied us with," General Collins replied thoughtfully. "We might be able to find something in those."

"I don't believe we are looking for a new or established base," Admiral Clements replied leaning back and closing his eyes in thought. "The Cylons took all them out in the initial attack."

"Then an older base," General Abramson said in agreement. "One that may have been shut down or disposed of years ago."

"We will search our records and see what we can find," General Collins replied.

"Anything else Captain Reed?" Admiral Clements asked. "So far this meeting had been full of surprises.

"Yes sir, I saved the best for last," she replied with a growing smile. "Evidently a lot more fleet units survived then we originally thought. Several days after the Cylon attack there was a major battle near an undisclosed nebula several light years from the Colonies. Evidentially it contained a secret military base. A number of fleet warships and a very large civilian fleet fought their way out and escaped. The Cylons have sent another quarter of their fleet off in pursuit of this group."

"You have got to be fraking joking!" Admiral Stockwell spoke shaking his head in disbelief. "We know from the communications we have reviewed of the Cylon attack and the ships that Admiral Davidson and Admiral Nagala had with them, that almost all the Colonial fleet has been accounted for!"

"There was one very interesting item in the intercept," Captain Reed continued looking a little unsure. "The Colonial fleet that escaped had a number of Titan Class Gunstars with them. One was supposedly equipped with very powerful laser weapons and a force shield of some type."

"I think that tears it," Admiral Stockwell spoke up once more, nodding his head. "This intercept may be some type of Cylon trick. There were no Titans in the Colonial fleet and we all know that any type of feasible force field is completely impractical due to energy requirements."

"Perhaps," Admiral Clements replied looking at Stockwell and then back to Captain Reed. "But Admiral Corman may have had more then one secret up his sleeve. This secret military base in this nebula sounds just like something that he might have done. Let's keep an open mind on this and see if we hear anything else from the Cylons. Anything else Captain Reed?"

"Only one more item sir," Captain Reed replied seeming to be unsure of herself. "There was one more intercept that we had a hard time believing."

"What was that?" Admiral Clements asked.

"According to this intercept," Captain Reed began. "Several weeks after the Cylon attack, a group of four Valkyrie Class Battlestars and two Defender Class Gunstars attacked a number of bases in Cylon space."

"This all has to be made up!" Admiral Stockwell exploded his eyes widening in disbelief. "Where are all these ships coming from? They just can't exist!"

"I'm not so sure Admiral," Clements replied recalling some vague rumors he had heard before the Cylon attack. "I heard some rumors circulating that there was a secret mission sent to Cylon space just prior to the attack. These could be those ships. What else was in the Intercept Captain Reed?"

"Apparently the ships attacked a number of Cylon bases severely reducing their ship building capability," she replied. "One of the Battlestars was reportedly destroyed as well as one of the Gunstars. Two of the other Battlestars were heavily damaged. The Cylons have not been able to find them and have no idea where they went."

Everyone was silent for several moments as they weighed all this information. Clements knew that it needed to be evaluated some more, some of it sounded so fantastic. "Anything else Captain?"

"Not a lot more sir," Captain Reed replied. "We are receiving some vague references in some of the Cylon messages about a number of special projects that the Cylons have implemented involving some human hostages. We don't know what or where at the moment."

"What about the other Colonies?" Admiral Clements asked looking at Captain Reed. "Any word on any resistance movements on the others?"

"No sir," Captain Reed replied shaking her head. "Only Caprica."


	14. Chapter 14

**DAY 120**

**IONIAN NEBULA**

Lieutenant Sarah Wells and Lieutenant Mathew Geller sat in the cockpit of their raptor at a safe distance from the new asteroid. As they watched, several large ungainly machines aligned themselves with the asteroid and then from one of them a brilliant red pulse laser beam shot out carving off a huge chunk. The chunk was grabbed by a tug and hauled to one of the mining ships to be broken down and all of its useful minerals recovered. This had been going on for several days now and the asteroid was already beginning to take on its future cylindrical shape.

"Those pulse lasers are really amazing," Lieutenant Geller said watching as another red beam shot out from the other machine.

"They use an awful lot of power," Lieutenant Wells replied. "That's why we quit using them during the first part of the Cylon war 40 years ago.

"I heard that Professor Ravashol is equipping several of the Warstars with pulse laser weaponry," Lieutenant Geller commented looking over at Sarah.

Pressing a few buttons and using the hand controls, Sarah fired a small burst of power through the raptor's engine moving the raptor to a new position where they could better oversee the operation. Their job was only observation and to report immediately if any problems occurred. Four other raptors were also in observation positions around various areas of the asteroid. An Escortstar floated close by acting as the flagship for the small group of raptors, tugs, and the pulse laser crews.

"Professor Ravashol is a genius from what they say," Sarah responded. "If he says they will work then I believe him."

"I heard a report that the Galactica and the Pegasus are still out there," Mathew continued looking over at Sarah. "If they survived it's possible your brother's Gunstar is still out there, it was never reported destroyed."

"I know," Sarah replied fighting back a tear. "It's just the not knowing that is so hard. With my parents and sister, I know in my heart that they couldn't have survived, but my brother is another thing. I guess I will always hope that he is out there somewhere."

"There is also that other mysterious fleet that fought its way out of that nebula," Mathew added. "From some of the Cylon intercepts it had several Battlestars as well as a few Gunstars with it. Your brother could be with them."

Aboard the Sidon, General Collins sat in his Command Center with Colonel Ward and Colonel Steele at his side. Colonel Steele was now responsible for the defenses of all Colonial units that were not military ships. That meant he was responsible for both shipyards, the four Supply Depots, all the civilian ships, the Sidon, and very soon the New Haven Colony. In order to do this he had at his disposal twenty squadrons of Mark 7 vipers. Admiral Clements had also allowed him to keep the Sidon's original four Gunstars for now and assigned him eight Escortstars to work with. They had also built and deployed ten defensive satellites to add to their firepower if needed.

Currently they had a globe of open space one million kilometers in diameter to defend. A series of satellites had been launched and placed in orbit around the two orbiting planets, which would help keep the radiation and gas cloud at bay. The ten defensive satellites had been placed at equidistant points in this globe. In the next four months, Colonel Steele planned to add an additional 20 more defensive satellites to the ten he already had.

These new satellites were larger then the ones they had formerly used, being nearly two hundred meters in diameter and having a more powerful point defense system. They were also designed to hold more interceptor missiles with only one salvo of four large ship killer missiles in their launch tubes. He wanted the capability to knock out any Cylon probe as soon as it jumped in to prevent it from escaping with the vital information on their location. Currently he had nearly three squadrons of vipers deployed for interception purposes as well as all the Escortstars.

"How are the mining operations going?" General Collins asked Colonel Ward who was busy studying some information being displayed on his console.

"As expected," Colonel Ward replied looking up. "We have initiated over 22 different mining operations on the smaller planet. Preliminary surveys of the larger planet show a much larger deposit of heavy metals. Because of the higher gravity, much of the mining on the larger planet will be done by remote. We can maintain standard gravity at the control centers we will be placing on the planet, but that will not be practical at the mines themselves. We've done this before on other planets so it's nothing new."

"Our defenses?" General Collins asked turning to Colonel Steele.

"We're in good shape at the moment," Colonel Steele replied, he had just finished talking to the officer in charge of constructing the new defense satellites. "As soon as a few more of the new defense satellites are on line, we can pull some of the Escortstars off their patrols and cut back on our viper CAP."

"Very good," General Collins replied his gaze moving over the busy CIC. Everyone was deeply involved in different projects. The mining projects, the new satellite defense system, the work on the New Haven Colony, all were being monitored from this CIC. It was very important and demanding work and his crew was doing admirably.

**DAY 120**

**DEEP SHELTER BASE **

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton sat at his console in the Command Center reviewing the latest reports from the six parks they now had fully under their control. In the last 45 days, they had placed three Nomad Class Assault Shuttles in each park with a support group of nearly 1,000 marines. The marines in each park were separated into 30 platoons, each with a section of park to patrol and maintain. Mobile missile platforms had also been placed in strategic positions. If the need arose and it became necessary to shoot down Cylon craft or missiles, they would have the capability to do so.

For weeks now, everything had been quiet, almost too quiet. On the main view screens, various views of Caprica were prevalent. Some showed the parks and others showed other views of the planet.

"I don't like it," Colonel Edwards said looking at the screens worriedly. "Why haven't the Cylons moved against us yet?"

"They seem to be consolidating the areas of the planet already under their control," Major Rice said looking at a map on his console. Over the past few months, the Cylons had moved little. The map currently showed that the Cylons still controlled 68 percent of the planet. Before the Cylon attack, the area the Cylons controlled held 98 percent of the planet's human population.

"Our last census shows that nearly two million people are in our six parks," Colonel Edwards reported scanning some data on his screens. "At the current rate we will be out of supplies for them within four months!"

"We have been cleaning out supplies from the surrounding countryside for weeks now," Major Rice commented looking over at General Ashton. "We have already placed the civilians on half rations. I don't know what we're going to do. If not for the presence of our marines, there would be a lot of trouble in the parks."

"We may have no choice but to hit another major supply depot," Colonel Edwards said with a touch of concern in his voice.

"We will take heavy casualties if we do," Major Rice stated with a frown crossing his face. "The Cylons have placed heavy guards on all the surviving facilities. However, I don't see where we have any choice. We can't let these people starve!"

"I know," General Ashton replied soberly. He had been worrying about this for days. "Pick out two supply depots where we can get what we need. We will hit them when we see we have no other option left. I fear that this move may be what the Cylons are waiting for. When we hit the depots the Cylons will undoubtedly be able to trace us back to this base."

"That may be why they have been consolidating their positions," Colonel Edwards replied agreeing with the General. "Fortunately our defenses are nearly complete. We have a ring of fourteen heavy dual firing kinetic rail guns surrounding the base that will be completed by the end of the month. We can hit anything up to 125 kilometers above us. That's enough to prevent the Cylons from hitting the base with kinetic weapons from their Basestars. We have also finished installing 80 dual point defense weapons. We will have the missile platforms completed in another two weeks. We can also put 20 raptors into the air to knock down incoming missiles if need be. They may locate our base but we are going to be a very hard nut to crack!"

"Let's hope so," General Ashton said pleased that the defenses were nearly complete. "How goes our civilian training?"

"We currently have 4,500 hundred civilian men and women going through basic training in the parks. Two hundred and fifty at each shuttle site. We have located another 1,800 that have previous military service. These people are receiving quick refresher courses," Major Rice reported. When their training is complete they will be mixed in with our regular marines."

"We have also brought nearly 2,000 additional people into this facility," Colonel Edwards continued. "Doctors, technicians, engineers, all people that can be of immediate use. We have found some very talented people out there and the search for more is continuing."

"Very well," General Ashton said standing up and stretching. It had been a long day. "Keep me informed of any important developments."

Lieutenant Jantz looked over the raw recruits that Sergeant Rush and he were training. Another 20 marines were also assisting with this group of 250. They were trying to crowd into four months what normally took a year of intense training. However, to the recruit's credit, the young men and women were very determined. Their world had been taken away from them and they knew that their survival might very well depend on what they learned from their marine instructors.

Sergeant Rush currently had ten recruits over to one side going over battlefield tactics with them. "The Cylons are hard to bring down," he was saying in an instructive tone of voice his eyes moving across the group making eye contact where necessary. "Regular weapons fire from hunting rifles will do little damage unless you get very lucky. We have special metal penetrating explosive rounds that do the job for our heavy assault rifles."

"But how many times do you need to hit a Centurion?" a young attractive woman asked. She had watched helplessly as her mother and father were murdered ruthlessly by a Cylon Centurion and had just barely managed to escape by slipping out a back window of their home.

Sergeant Rush paused a moment weighing his answer. "From our experience at the supply depots a shot to the center of their chest plate will completely disrupt their power supply; however their chest plate is very heavily armored. A head shot will destroy its processing ability and render it completely incapacitated. If you want to play it safe I would suggest a shot to the chest plate and then an additional head shot to insure it's made permanently nonfunctional"

"I saw one once that had lost both legs and an arm and still managed to kill the people it was after," a young man stated worriedly recalling the horrifying event.

"These are machines people," Sergeant Rush went on looking into the eyes of each recruit. "They don't feel or know pain, their mission is to kill you and don't forget it! If you knock one down, put a bullet in its head before you turn and walk away or you may find yourself on the receiving end. These things do not get tired. If they run out of ammunition they will try to tear you apart and remember," he paused looking once again at each recruit wanting to drive home this point. "These Cylon Centurions are much stronger then humans. They will tear you limb from limb if they get the opportunity!"

Over next to the Nomad Shuttle, Captain Aaron Sims and Lieutenant Susan James were watching the training with interest. Around the camp small shelters had been erected to hold the recruits, defenses had been set up to adequately protect the site from a moderate Cylon attack in case the camp was discovered. The defenses should allow the Colonials time to escape if necessary.

"I wonder how much longer before the Cylons attack?" Susan asked worriedly. Training all these recruits was fine, but she knew that they would be heavily outnumbered. From the last reports, she had heard the Cylons had over a 500,000 Centurions on Caprica with more arriving daily.

"I don't know," Captain Sims said leaning back against a large tree trying to relax. "We have another supply run scheduled for tonight. We're going to check out a small agricultural community four hundred kilometers east of us. There will be four raptors and two support shuttles involved."

"It's becoming harder all the time to find supplies," Susan said with concern spreading across her face. "What are we going to do when we can't find anymore?"

"I doubt if the Cylons will wait that long,' Aaron said quietly looking at Susan. "We just need to take as many of them with us as possible."

Susan nodded knowing Aaron was right. Everyone knew they were all living on borrowed time. When the Cylons were finally ready to move, she knew that even with all the defenses they were building and the training of the civilians, the Cylons would over run the parks very quickly. She looked back toward the marine training as one group began practicing disassembling and reassembling their weapons. She wished they had some hope but what could they do, she knew that the end was coming, they just didn't know when.

**DAY 130**

**IONIAN NEBULA**

Admiral Clements and his Command Staff were meeting aboard the Sidon. General Collins had reported that they had found some very interesting information in some old defense files on the Sidon and that they should meet immediately to discuss it.

"We know where the Marine base on Caprica is," he said dropping his bombshell. "It's in Crystal Falls World Park!"

"The park," Admiral Clements said surprised looking at General Collins. "What is a military base doing in the park? I can't believe the civilian government would ever agree to such a project."

"The civilian government would never allow it General Collins," Admiral Stockwell continued shaking his head. "You have to be mistaken."

"No, we have pretty well confirmed our information," General Collins stated. "The base was built during the original Cylon war as a failsafe for the government and the military brass in case of a massive Cylon attack on Caprica."

"Then why haven't we heard about this base before?" General Abramson asked looking confused. "And why didn't the Cylons hit it in their initial strike. They had access to both the civilian and military mainframes on Caprica so they had to know it was there."

"That's just it, they didn't know about it," General Collins replied with a small hint of a smile. "The base was decommissioned after the Cylon war and was bought by the regional governor of that sector of Caprica. Representative Jason Ashton."

"Ashton!" General Abramson said thoughtfully, the name sounded very familiar. "There was a General Ashton in the command structure on Caprica. He was a marine officer in charge of a large marine base near Caprica City."

"Jason Ashton's son," General Collins replied letting everyone connect the dots. "From what we have determined Representative Ashton purchased the base with the agreement he could strip it of useable materials and then he would fill it in with permacrete. Over the years as his political power grew, he was able to remove almost all references of it from the official records. The only reason we have a record of it is because some of our files are very old and he didn't have access to them."

"Then it's probably General Ashton who has control of the base," Admiral Clements stated thoughtfully.

"If it is General Ashton and if he managed to save his entire command, he will have nearly a full division at his disposal plus support craft," General Abramson spoke recalling what should have been at the base. "General Ashton is a very capable commander. He could cause the Cylons a lot of trouble."

"Do we know the base's exact location?" Admiral Clements asked looking at General Collins.

"Yes sir," General Collins replied with a nod. "We know its exact location in the park. It's built underneath a small mountain."

"Admiral Stockwell have Commander Talon report to me aboard the Aurora, I think we may have a mission for him."

**DAY 140**

**CAPRICA SYSTEM**

The Battlestar Caprica jumped into the Caprica system with an air of anticipation.

"Dradis is clear," Captain Beck reported as the systems stabilized and the screen came up.

"Activate ECM and go into stealth mode," Commander Talon ordered. All over the Battlestar, power was reduced and unnecessary systems were shut down. In the launch bays, two squadrons of vipers set ready to be launched at a moments notice. With the power diminished, it would take at least ten minutes to spin up the FTL jump drives. If the Cylons found them, the vipers would have their work cut out for them.

A few moments later Colonel Stillwell turned and reported. "All systems running on minimum. ECM activated. All departments on standby."

"All weapons systems on standby sir," Lieutenant Minsk reported. "If the Cylons find us it will take approximately four minutes to bring them back on line."

"I know," Commander Talon replied. He didn't like running this defenseless either. But if they were detected, their mission would be a failure. "Order the raptor to launch."

A minute later a heavily shielded raptor left the landing bay. They had worked for the last week preparing the raptor for this mission. It had been stripped of everything that might make it detectable. It was completely unarmed and all the stealth technology available to the Sidon and the shipyards had been put into her.

Lieutenant Sarah Wells sat tensely at the controls as the raptor neared Caprica. Her wingman Mathew Geller and she had been chosen for this mission. Mathew used to do a lot of backpacking with his father in Crystal Falls World Park and he was very familiar with parts of it.

As they neared Caprica, the Dradis showed three Basestars in orbit.

Very carefully, she maneuvered the raptor until they were above the designated coordinates and then she shut everything down. She even put life support on minimum. The raptor was painted a dead black so as not to reflect any light or be easy to see sitting here in space. They were going to get a little cold but that was better then dying. Sarah gazed out the cockpit window at Caprica. It looked almost normal, the blues, greens, and the white clouds floating across the surface, you would never suspect the Cylon horror that dominated the peaceful looking planet.

"Sending message," Lieutenant Geller stated as he activated the com system. After a moment he stopped, now all they could do was wait and hope the Cylons didn't detect them. The Dradis screen even at low power showed numerous Cylon raiders in orbit with some going down to the planet and others coming up. It's really crowded up here he thought to himself.

**DEEP SHELTER BASE **

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton hurried into the Command Center looking for Captain Silkwood. "You have received what?" he demanded as he took his place at his command console.

"We have a scrambled message on Fleet Com Line Alpha for you sir." Captain Silkwood replied. "It came in as a flash message on narrow dispersion. They know exactly where we are!"

"Run it through decryption program and then play it back over my console." General Ashton ordered feeling confused.

Colonel Edwards came into the Command Center and took his place at his own console. "A message on Fleet Com Line Alpha, that's from a Colonial warship!"

"Perhaps," General Ashton replied guardedly. "Let's wait and hear the message."

A few moments later, the two sat stunned. A Colonial raptor was requesting access to the base to apprise the General of important information. The raptor had given exact coordinates where a reply message was to be sent.

"They are sitting right above us at about 200 kilometers," Colonel Edwards reported checking the coordinates. "What do you want to do?"

"Send them a reply on a tight beam. Give them the coordinates to one of our support bases in the park," General Ashton replied hoping this was not a Cylon trick of some kind. "Once we can confirm their identity our own people can bring them in."

Two hours later Captain Aaron Sims and Lieutenant Susan James watched as the strange raptor set down near them. A squad of heavily armed marines rapidly surrounded it. They waited tensely as the raptor door opened and the ramp was extended. They breathed a sigh of relief as a number of what looked like Colonial fleet and military officers descended. None looked like any of the human form Cylons they were aware of.

"They are from the fleet!" Susan breathed excitedly gazing at the newcomers. "They have to be!"

"But the fleet was wiped out," Captain Sims replied trying not to let his own excitement show. "This could be a Cylon trick. These may be human Cylon models we haven't encountered before."

"I don't think they're Cylons and evidently not all of the fleet was destroyed or they wouldn't be here," Susan replied, for the first time in months she begin to feel a little flicker of hope in the back of her mind.

An hour later, the raptor flew into Deep Shelter Base. Captain Sims was piloting with Lieutenant Wells sitting in the copilot's seat.

As they flew through the camouflage field and landed in the cavernous landing bay, Sarah felt surprised as she realized just how large this base was. This is going to get interesting she thought. She knew that Captain Sims had been full of questions but he had refrained from asking.

General Ashton and his Command Staff waited in the conference room as two Colonels were led inside.

"I am Colonel Adams, Admiral Clements Exec," the first one said saluting the General. Admiral Clements had promoted Adams to the rank of Colonel for this mission.

"Admiral Clements," General Ashton replied shocked. Admiral Clements was fourth in command of the entire Colonial fleet.

"I thought the Admiral died when the Cylons destroyed the shipyard," General Ashton said trying to figure this out.

"No sir," Colonel Adams replied. "We made it look that way but we escaped." Turning to the other officer that had accompanied him, he continued. "This is Colonel Tidwell, General Abramson's second in command."

"General Abramson survived also?" General Ashton stated looking at the two Colonels in surprise.

"Yes sir, as well as a large number of civilian and some Colonial warships," Colonel Adams replied. "I am not at liberty to say how many or where our base of operations is, but I do have a lot of other information for you. The primary reason for this visit is to ascertain the capabilities of this base and to see what we can do to support you."

For over an hour the officers met, with Colonel Adams giving them a brief report of their escape from the shipyard and the rescue of the civilians.

"So you have the Ninth Battlestar Group at your disposal," General Ashton said thoughtfully. An entire operational Battlestar Group could be a real headache for the Cylons.

"Yes sir, but we're not quite ready to take on the Cylons," Colonel Adams replied carefully. He was under specific orders not to mention the other ships at their disposal. They could not risk the Cylons finding out in case the information some how got out of the base.

"I understand you are aware of the human Cylons," Colonel Tidwell said opening a folder and handing five photographs over to General Ashton.

"Yes, we found four of them in our base," General Ashton replied looking down at the photos. "They tried to send signals out and were captured. They are being kept sedated in our medical ward in medical stasis chambers. Two of them tried to commit suicide early on so it was decided to keep them sedated and in stasis until we decided what to do with them."

"You were very fortunate," Colonel Tidwell spoke and then went on to explain Cylon resurrection technology. "Those photographs are of the five known forms of human Cylons that we have encountered."

General Ashton looked back down at the photographs and studied them for a moment. He recognized two of them as the human form Cylons they currently had in stasis, the other three he didn't recognize. He handed them to Colonel Edwards. "Upload these after this meeting and run them against everyone in this base. I want to know if we have anymore of these things running loose."

A while later the briefing was almost completed. "I don't know what you can possibly do to help us," General Ashton said finally. "We only have supplies for the civilians for another few months and once the Cylons find us we can expect an all out attack. I don't think we will survive too long once that happens. We will put up one frak of a defense, but eventually they will overwhelm us or we will run out of ammunition."

Colonel Adams leaned forwards with a smile on his face and handed General Ashton several data disks. "Those are the command codes for two of the Planetary Defense Satellites."

"The Planetary Defense Satellites," Colonel Edwards exclaimed surprised looking at the disks. "What good will those do? The Cylons control those."

"Not these two," Colonel Adams replied smugly. "Those are the two we used to destroy the two Cylon Basestars that were besieging the shipyard. We ordered them to shut down when we left so the Cylons would think their virus was affective. With those codes, you can reactivate those two satellites and maneuver them to cover your base. I don't need to tell you that those two satellites have the firepower of six Battlestars with the missiles and point defense they contain."

"With those under our control the only thing we would have to fear is a ground assault," Major Rice said with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"What would another 20,000 marines and all the supplies you need mean?" Colonel Tidwell asked straight-faced.

"With 20,000 additional marines and their equipment we could hold the Cylons off and protect these civilians almost indefinitely," General Ashton said with authority. "But where are we going to find 20,000 marines!"

"We have them," Colonel Tidwell replied with the hint of a slight smile.

"We can also furnish you with all the supplies you need," Colonel Adams continued. "Not only that but we might be able to take some of the civilians you are protecting off your hands."

"Holy frak," Colonel Edwards said leaning back hardly believing what he was hearing. "If you can do that you would be miracle workers."

The group spent another few minutes going over some details and decided to take a break. General Ashton wanted to take the two Colonels on a tour of the massive base. He felt like a huge burden had been partially lifted from his shoulders. If the two could even deliver on a portion of what they were promising, it could make all the difference in keeping the surviving civilians on Caprica alive!

Six hours later Sarah and Mathew breathed a sigh of relief as their raptor did a short FTL jump back to the Caprica's location. Colonel Adams and Colonel Tidwell had remained behind to assist General Ashton. They knew the location of the communications satellite that the Hestia had placed in the system earlier and by using Deep Shelter Base's subspace transmitter, they would have a secure line of communication back to Admiral Clements. Colonel Adams would also be invaluable in helping to reactivate the two Defense Satellites and getting them moved into position to protect the base.

"I am glad we made it back," Lieutenant Wells said with relief as she adjusted the raptors heading to take them into the waiting landing bay.

"Holy frak," Lieutenant Geller said suddenly as the Dradis screen suddenly beeped a warning. "We have two Cylon heavy raiders that just jumped in behind us. They must have detected our FTL jump! Get us into the landing bay quick Sarah, we're not armed!"

In the CIC of the Caprica, Commander Talon watched the Dradis closely. They had already spotted the two raiders. The FTL jumps had been the wild card in the entire operation. FTL jumps within a system were traceable no matter how well shielded a ship was. The tracking ship just had to be in the right location and evidently, these two raiders had been. "How long before our weapons are back on line?" he asked as he watched the two raiders closing rapidly on the raptor and the Caprica. The two heavy raiders were already within missile range.

"At least two minutes sir," Colonel Stillwell replied as he spoke with Lieutenant Minsk. "We are powering back up, but it will take a few minutes for the energizer to ramp back up and to reinitialize our systems."

"How soon before we can launch our vipers?" Commander Talon demanded. This had been the biggest danger of shutting everything down so they would remain undetected. They would be defenseless if they were found and it looked like they had been.

"We can launch two vipers in another minute and two squadrons in five." Lieutenant Minsk replied from his tactical station.

"Not soon enough," Commander Talon said worriedly. "They will be firing missiles before that!"

"We have a missile inbound," Lieutenant Geller warned as the Dradis let out a higher warning tone. "Impact in five seconds!"

"Frak!" Lieutenant Wells muttered as she kicked in the raptor's turbos and flipped the raptor into a defensive roll designed to confuse the missile. A second later, the missile shot by the raptor and impacted on the hull of the Caprica. Fortunately, it was non-nuclear. Sarah didn't know if they had been the target or the Battlestar.

Moments later Sarah shot the raptor into the landing bay. As she began shutting off power, she heard two vipers blast out of their launching tubes. Opening the hatch, they exited the craft running to their waiting vipers.

"We took a missile hit to the starboard landing bay," Colonel Stillwell reported. "Only minor damage reported it was non-nuclear."

On the Dradis, the two vipers rapidly closed with their targets at the same time the Dradis switched to a high-pitched warning tone. "Inbound missiles from the heavy raiders," Captain Beck reported. "Both raiders have launched multiple missiles. Another warning tone sounded on his console. "Two of the missiles are nukes!"

"It will still be another minute before our point defense turrets are on line!" Lieutenant Minsk reported his eyes wide with worry.

"Close all emergency bulkheads and brace for impact," Commander Talon ordered sharply as alarms began sounding. "Have emergency response teams to stand by!"

Outside the ship, the two vipers closed with the raiders. The raiders upon detecting the vipers tried to maneuver away but the two sleek vipers were too quick for the larger Cylon ships. Both Vipers fired interceptor missiles and moments later both Cylon ships exploded in two twin fireballs.

"Missiles closing," Captain Beck reported. "Impact in," his words were drowned out as explosions rocked the Caprica.

Commander Talon felt the ship shudder violently from the impacts and the lights in the CIC flickered, went out, and then came back on.

"Heavy damage to frames 18-24," Colonel Stillwell reported as he scanned his screens and listened to damage reports flooding in from various areas of the ship. "We have decompression on decks eight, ten, and eleven from frames 32-47. We have a number of fires being reported in other areas of the ship. At least six heavy missiles hit us plus two nukes. Looks like the nukes were low yield tactical or the damage would have been a lot worse."

"Both raiders confirmed destroyed," Captain Beck reported.

"FTL drive is out sir," Colonel Stillwell continued as he listened to a report from the FTL officer. "Twenty minutes to repair."

"Frak! We're not going to have 20 minutes," Commander Talon breathed heavily as he gazed frustratingly at the red lights on the damage control console. "Send a flash message to the satellite. Inform Admiral Clements of our situation and the success of our contact mission with Deep Shelter Base. Inform him that our survival is unlikely."

The CIC was unnaturally quiet as the impact of Commander Talon's words sunk in. They all knew the gravity of the situation they were in, Cylon Basestars could appear at any moment!

A minute later the message had been sent. The ready viper squadrons were in the process of launching and setting up a cap around the Caprica and the reserve squadrons were being prepared to be loaded into the launch tubes.

"Multiple Dradis contacts," Captain Beck reported as the Dradis screen emitted a warning tone. "Twenty Cylon heavy raiders inbound."

"Order our vipers to intercept," Commander Talon ordered. If the Cylons didn't send in a Basestar, they had a chance. Not a great one but at least a small chance of getting out of this alive.

"Point defense back on line," Lieutenant Minsk reported with evident relief in his voice as the ship's weapons systems came back up, the damage and momentary power failure had delayed getting the systems operational.

"Two more Dradis contacts," Captain Beck reported his eyes growing wide. "Two Cylon Basestars have jumped into range and are launching raiders.

"All of our squadrons have now been launched," Lieutenant Minsk reported.

"Well that's it I guess," Colonel Stillwell said looking up at the Dradis screen. "We can't fight two Basestars and we are not going to have our FTL drive back up before they engage us."

"No, but we can hurt them!" Commander Talon said determinedly. "Navigation set a course for those two Basestars. Lieutenant Minsk bring our missile tubes on line and heavy KEW batteries to standby. Colonel Stillwell order our vipers to engage those raiders and to try to clear us a path to those two Basestars."

Sarah gunned her viper around a Cylon raider flipping her viper in a barrel roll and momentarily hitting her turbos bringing the raider into her sites. Two quick short bursts from the viper's twin twenty-millimeter guns and the raider blew apart into smoking flaming debris. Mathew flew along beside her. They could see the two Cylon Basestars and the huge number of raiders they were launching.

"I guess there won't be a shortage of targets today," Mathew said with a calm accepting tone in his voice.

"No not today," Sarah replied with a strange relaxed feeling knowing that soon she would be joining her parents, brother, and sister.

At least she could take as many of these toasters as possible with her. She locked her viper on another target and let loose one of her remaining interceptor missiles and smiled in grim satisfaction as the raider exploded. Next to her Mathew blasted another raider to pieces as it tried to come in from above them.

Around them the vipers and raiders became involved in a massive Dogfight as the two groups closed upon one another. Raiders were being rapidly blown out of space but unfortunately, a lot of vipers were being destroyed also. There were 80 vipers engaged against what now seemed to be hundreds of raiders.

"There are just too many of them!" Sarah exclaimed as she watched two more vipers explode as they failed to dodge the Cylon raiders that had been closing with them. Sarah and Mathew twisted and flew their vipers in a mad series of gyrations and turns as they dodged two inbound Cylon missiles. They watched with relief as the two missiles swept by them not able to lock on either viper.

In the CIC of the Caprica, it was quiet as the Colonial Battlestar rapidly closed the range between her and the two Cylon Basestars.

"Target the nearest Basestar," Commander Talon ordered crisply. "All weapons standby to fire. Use of nukes is authorized!"

Already the ships point defense was firing rapidly blowing incoming raider after raider apart. Commandeer Talon hardly noticed as his ship shuddered from more missile impacts. She just needed to hold together until he could fire his weapons. He wanted to take out at least one of these Cylon Basestars, even if he had to ram the damn thing with the Caprica!"

"New Dradis contacts," Captain Beck reported suddenly as the Dradis chimed again.

"Sounds like they want to make sure they finish us off," Colonel Stillwell commented dryly.

"Sir, they are not Cylon!" Captain Beck reported stunned. "It's a Colonial Battlestar and two Gunstars!"

On board the Mercury Class Battlestar Tauri, Admiral Reynolds looked in amazement on his screens. One of his Gunstars on a salvage mission had jumped back to his location reporting that the Cylons were attacking a Colonial warship. He had jumped his small fleet immediately to try to assist.

"It's confirmed sir, that's a Valkyrie Class Battlestar engaging the Cylons. From the scans it looks like her FTL is down."

"Contact that ship immediately for identification," Admiral Reynolds ordered. "Launch all vipers and place us on a course to engage those Basestars. Order our two Gunstars to focus on the raiders and try to take some pressure off that Battlestar!"

"Sir," Lieutenant Ash reported on board the Caprica. "It's the Battlestar Tauri under command of Admiral Reynolds, they are requesting our identification!"

"Send it," Commander Talon replied tersely wondering where these ships had come from. Reynolds, Talon thought, he was in charge of Battlestar Group 15. Talon knew that Admiral Reynolds was reputed to be one of the top young Admirals in the fleet.

Moments later the Tauri closed with the two Cylon Basestars, heavy missiles, and KEW batteries let go as she fired upon the nearest one. The Tauri's point defense began to blast incoming raiders into fiery explosions as they turned to attack the new Battlestar which had suddenly appeared in their midst.

"Fire missiles and KEW batteries," Commander Talon ordered as the Caprica continued to close on her target. "Keep our bow pointed toward the nearest Cylon Basestar. I want to present as small a target as possible. Our heaviest armor is on the bow! I want that FTL drive up as soon as possible. We just might survive this!"

"The two Gunstars are moving up to support us," Colonel Stillwell reported as he watched the Dradis screen.

Moments later heavy KEW projectiles and missiles impacted on the nearer Cylon Basestar. The two Gunstars had moved up next to the Caprica to help cover her from incoming Cylon Raiders. They also began to launch missiles and fire their lighter KEW batteries at the Basestar the Caprica had targeted.

"Where the frak did they come from?" Mathew said surprised as a brilliant flash lit up one of the Basestars from a nuke strike. Moments later, multiple explosions began to march across the Basestar from other impacting missiles and KEW rounds.

"Who cares," Sarah replied elated. She had already spotted one of the Gunstars and recognized the name on the hull. It was the Triffid, her brother's ship, her brother was here! David had come to the rescue! "Let's waste some more of these Toasters, see how they like taking on a real Colonial fleet for once!" With a renewed furor she hit her turbos and went after the Cylon raiders."

The Tauri was slamming missile after missile into the Cylon Basestar that was her target. Massive explosions began to blossom across the ship. Return missile fire from the Basestar was blown apart by the Battlestar's flak field. The Tauri had achieved the element of surprise and her heavy KEW rounds had hit the Cylon Basestar taking out many of her missile emplacements.

"Keep hitting that Basestar," Admiral Reynolds ordered savagely. For once, the Cylons were on the receiving end. Admiral Reynolds had watched many of his friends die as their ships were blown apart in the initial Cylon attack upon the Colonies and at the destruction of Admiral Nagala's fleet. This was an opportunity for some pay back and he fully intended to destroy both of these Basestars if he was given the time. "Bring us up twelve degrees and I want all KEW batteries to fire on the center axis of that Basestar."

A moment later heavy KEW rounds impacted shattering the Basestar's central axis generating a huge explosion that caused the Basestar to start to spin erratically. A barrage of heavy missiles from the Tauri finished the Basestar off as it exploded into a smoking cloud of gas and debris. A Mercury Class Battlestar was not something to toy with.

The Tauri then turned her attention to the second Cylon Basestar, which the Caprica and the two Gunstars were attacking. The Basestar was already reeling from the attack of the three smaller ships. Her FTL drive was disabled and she could not flee. Missiles and KEW rounds impacted upon the Basestar taking out her few defensive batteries and missile launching tubes. Her return fire decreased as the four ships increased their rate of fire causing huge explosions to rock the Basestar. Moments later the second Cylon Basestar met the same fate as the other one had as the Caprica and the Tauri blew it out of space.

The Caprica's vipers augmented by the fresh squadrons from the Tauri, suddenly found that they outnumbered the now decimated Cylon raiders. Very shortly, the last Cylon raider exploded in a satisfying fireball from Sarah's last interceptor missile.

"Sir, Admiral Reynolds is requesting our status," a smiling and relieved Lieutenant Ash reported from communications.

A feeling of massive relief prevailed in the CIC. They had been miraculously rescued from certain death.

"Inform him that our FTL jump drive is off line and should be operational in another five to seven minutes," Commander Talon replied.

"The Tauri is sending us some jump coordinates," Lieutenant Ash responded.

"Enter them," Commander Talon ordered. "We need to get out of here as quickly as possible; some of those heavy raiders escaped and will soon be returning with Cylon reinforcements. Until we have repaired our battle damage, we are in no shape for another heavy engagement. Have our vipers return to the ship. Make sure the SAR raptors double check for survivors. I don't want to leave anyone behind. Inform Admiral Reynolds that I will report to the Tauri as soon as we have jumped."

A few minutes later, the four ships vanished as they activated their FTL jump drives. Commander Talon knew that Admiral Reynolds would have a lot of questions and so did he. Where had the Tauri come from, where had she been all this time. They would have a lot to talk about and when Admiral Clements heard about this, he knew the Admiral was going to be pleasantly surprised. Another Mercury Class Battlestar and two more Gunstars to add to their fleet! This mission was really beginning to look up.

Twelve hours later after a series of jumps, the Caprica, the Tauri, and her escort ships jumped into a small solar system. After taking some readings on the system the Tauri transmitted the final jump coordinates to the Caprica and the small fleet jumped one more time.

Commander Talon looked at the Dradis screen with surprise as they reached their destination. A 1,500 hundred meter fleet Supply Depot floated there surrounded by a small number of ships. There were four civilian passenger liners, an old agro ship, and half a dozen cargo vessels of various types protected by two fleet Escortstars and a viper squadron from the Supply Depot.

Commander Talon knew, from what Admiral Reynolds had already told him previously, that after jumping away from the final battle at Virgon, Admiral Reynolds had found one of the fleet Supply Depots still intact as well as its crew. He had used the Tauri's FTL drives and the drives from the two Gunstars to jump the depot to this location. He had also found the civilian ships that were currently with the fleet in the process.

They were located in open space on the far outskirts of a small solar system. They were so far out from the system's primary that it had been necessary to actually jump into the system to get bearings so they could find the Supply Depot. It also made detection from the Cylons very unlikely because of the extreme distance. They were actually over ten billion kilometers out past the system's cometary ring.

Commander Talon had met briefly with Admiral Reynolds after they had jumped away from the Caprica system. Commander Talon hadn't been able to give Admiral Reynolds all the answers to his many questions. He just didn't have the authority to do so. They had agreed that once they arrived at their destination that one of the Gunstars would be dispatched to one of the relay satellites to send a coded message to Admiral Clements.

Admiral Reynolds had been stunned to find out that Admiral Clements still survived. When asked about what they had been doing in the Caprica system, Commander Talon had responded that they had been on a top secret mission for Admiral Clements and that the Admiral would have to fill Admiral Reynolds in. The Admiral had accepted Commander Talon's answers. He understood the need for secrecy in this situation. The only thing that Commander Talon had revealed to the Admiral was that they were using the Sidon mining colony as a base of operations.

Aboard the Gunstar Triffid, Major David Wells was surprised when a raptor from the Caprica requested landing clearance. Why anyone from the Caprica would want with them was beyond his understanding.

A few minutes later, the door to the CIC opened and Sarah stepped through. Major Wells turned and froze when he saw who was standing there.

"Sarah!" he exclaimed rushing forward and grabbing his younger sister almost afraid to let her go. He had thought she was dead, that his entire family had died.

The crew in the CIC turned and went about their duties with a smile on most of their faces. When they heard their commander say Sarah, they all realized whom it was standing in the door of the CIC. They had all heard their commander talk about his younger sister. It was about time some good news found its way here.

"Hello David," she said laughing and hugging him back. "If you don't let me go you're gong to break my ribs."

A few minutes later, they were in Major Wells's quarters. 'Where have you been, how did you escape the Cylons?" He was full of a thousand questions. "Why are you dressed in a viper uniform and a Lieutenant at that?"

"You know that after I graduated from the fleet academy on Picon that I transferred to the mining colony Sidon," she said, carefully weighing her words knowing she was about to drop a bombshell on her older brother.

"Yes, I wanted you to stay in the fleet!" David replied looking confused. "You graduated as the top pilot in your class. You could have done almost anything in the Colonial military." A tinge of disappointment had entered his voice. "Dad would have been so proud of you if you had continued the family tradition."

"But I did stay in," she said surprising him. "The Sidon is a top secret Colonial military base and colony. I was offered a position there as squadron commander of one of the base's viper squadrons. It was an offer to good to pass up, especially after it was explained to me just how important this base was. Admiral Corman himself called me into his office and offered me the position. How could I tell the Commanding Admiral of our fleet no?"

"A military base?" David echoed shocked with widening eyes. He had thought his sister had opted out to fly cargo vessels for the Sidon mining colony for the cubits it would pay.

He had been so disappointed when she had opted out of the service that he had hardly talked to her for over a year. To learn that the Sidon was actually a secret military base was almost overwhelming. The Lieutenant's uniform she was wearing helped to confirm her story. His sister had continued the family tradition after all!

"So all the times you came home with stories about the cargo vessels you were flying that was just a cover story?" he asked his eyes looking sharply at his sister almost as if he was afraid she might suddenly disappear.

"Part of it," she replied. "I did fly them some of the time for the experience, but everyone who goes to the Sidon has to sign a secrecy agreement. That's why I couldn't say anything. You have no idea how badly I wanted to tell you everything. I have so missed all the talks we used to have!"

"So the Sidon survived?" David asked his eyes widening at the implications. Did they actually have a major military base they could use to launch attacks against the Cylons?

Oh yes David, and so much more," Sarah replied with a relaxed and excited grin. I can't tell you everything that will have to wait; all I can say is that the war is not yet over, not by a long shot!"

Three days later Sarah was in the Triffid's CIC with her brother waiting and watching the Dradis expectedly. She had spent the last three days as her brother's guest. He had been full of questions, most of which Sarah wasn't at liberty to discuss. All that he was able to learn was that there were other surviving fleet units and that the Sidon was operating from a secure location that the Cylons would not be able to locate. Other then that Sarah had not been able to enlighten her brother. She had spent much of the time telling her brother about her life and experiences on the Sidon.

It was time for fleet Admiral Clements to arrive. A message had been received that he was on his way to meet with Admiral Reynolds and that they were to stay put. On the Dradis, a solitary Gunstar jumped into the system, a moment later the screen was full of ships.

"By the lords of Kobol," the Dradis operator said stunned gazing in disbelief at all the contacts. "It's a Colonial war fleet!"

"What's out there," Major Wells demanded amazed at the number of ships showing up on the Dradis. Where could they all have come from? He looked back at Sarah almost accusingly; she only smiled back.

"I am picking up six Battlestars. There are two Mercury Class Battlestars and four Columbia Two Class Battlestars," the Dradis operator paused excitedly as he tried to identify the other ships. "If I am reading the war book correctly, there are ten Firestar Battle Cruisers, two Warstar Battle Cruisers, two Gunstars, four Escortstars, and four Tylium tankers out there also!"

"An entire war fleet," Major Wells said elated even though he could not figure out where most of the ships could have come from. He had thought all the Firestars and Warstars had been decommissioned. For the first time in many long months, he could see actual hope dawning on the excited faces of his crew. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes sir," The Dradis operator replied confused. "There is another ship. It's gigantic, much larger then a Mercury Class Battlestar; I have no idea what it is!"

Major Wells looked back at Sarah accusingly to see she was smiling widely.

"It's the Nova Class Fleet Commandstar Aurora," she said with a grin. "The Aurora is the most powerful Battlestar ever built by the Colonies and we have it!"

"But where did she come from?" David said as a view screen lit up with a close up of the Aurora. Everyone in the CIC gasped as they saw the massive heavily armed Commandstar.

"All in good time," Sarah replied with a smile. "All in good time."

Aboard the Tauri, Admiral Reynolds looked away from the view screen that showed the Aurora. The arrival of the fleet had been quite a shock. He hadn't expected anything like what was currently sitting on his ship's Dradis and view screens.

"I thought she had been decommissioned," the Admiral said quietly to his exec and Commander Talon who was standing at his side. "I see her demise was incorrect. It also looks like Admiral Clements has been to the Boneyards."

"That's correct sir," Commander Talon replied with a smile. "The Aurora has been completely repaired and she is battle ready, as well as the rest of the ships you see with her."

"So we still have a fleet, and a pretty powerful one," Admiral Reynolds said thoughtfully realizing that his people now had a place to go. This changed things drastically. This wasn't the type of fleet you sat around and did nothing with; this was a weapon to be used against the Cylons!

"Yes sir," Commander Talon replied. "We have other assets as well which I am sure the Admiral will be covering with you in our briefing."

"Then let's get over to the Aurora, I am very interested in seeing the inside of that ship," Admiral Reynolds said glancing back at the view screen. For the first time since the Tauri and her fleet had escaped so many months before he felt a calmness descend upon him, like a great weight had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders.

"Very well sir," Commander Talon responded. The two left the CIC going to the waiting raptor that was to take them to their meeting with Admiral Clements.

An hour later Admiral Reynolds and Commander Talon sat alone with Admiral Clements in a small briefing room aboard the Aurora.

"I am surprised to see you Admiral Reynolds," Admiral Clements began. "We were beginning to think that we were the only surviving warships from the fleet."

"You almost were sir," Admiral Reynolds replied letting out a deep breath. "Admiral Nagala ordered us out just before the Atlantia was destroyed. Even so, we took a lot of casualties withdrawing from the battle. Where did you come from sir! We have been raiding the Colonies for months picking up supplies and we have detected no signs of other ships."

"What were you picking up in the Colonies?" Admiral Clements asked curious.

"We needed supplies and weapons," Admiral Reynolds replied. "After we escaped, we found the civilians and then latched onto a fleet Supply Depot. We moved everything way out here where we felt that Cylon detection would be minimal. We have been going back to the Colonies searching damaged ships of the fleet for ammunition and anything that was salvageable. We managed to pick up quite a bit of ammunition as well as some vipers and raptors that were undamaged in some of the landing bays on a few of the ships."

"Did you see any ships that were salvageable?" Admiral Clements asked his gaze focused on Admiral Reynolds.

"No sir, most were so severely damaged that we couldn't even risk boarding them," Reynolds replied. "As you know, the Cylons go in for nukes in a big way and nukes don't leave much behind. Most of the raptors and vipers we recovered were from two landing bays we found that had been blasted away from their Battlestars."

"What about civilian or military radio traffic from the Colonies?" Admiral Clements asked. "Did you ever pick up any of that?"

"Not really sir," Admiral Reynolds replied recalling some of those first scavenging missions. "On our first few scavenging missions we did pick up a few transmissions from the Colonies but they were mostly calls for help, calls for medical aid and supplies. We couldn't get close to any of the Colonies because of the heavy Cylon presence. There hasn't been anything on any of the normally used frequencies now for weeks."

"How did you escape the battle at Virgon?" Admiral Clements asked curious about what had transpired there. "We know that Admiral Nagala had gathered what remained of the fleet in order to try to hold off the Cylons. I was in contact with Admiral Nagala right before the Atlantia was destroyed. What happened?"

Admiral Reynolds was quiet for a moment as he recalled that day nearly five long months ago.

Authors not: _For those of you who haven't looked at my profile page I have a surprise for you. This is why it is important but not absolutely necessary that you read Gunstar Titania and Cylon Strike before reading Commandstar Aurora. All I will say for now is that there is a Kobolan Battlecruiser operating in cloak in the Caprica system._


	15. Chapter 15

**DAY 0**

**ADMIRAL NAGALA'S FLEET**

**THE FINAL BATTLE**

**BATTLESTAR GROUP 15, FLEET ADMIRAL REYNOLDS**

Admiral Reynolds looked up at the Dradis screen and the HD view screens of the CIC with despair and deep concern. The massive Cylon fleet had finished gathering and now sat motionless in front of the thin line of Battlestars and other fleet units that opposed it. The Tauri, the Jupiter Class Battlestar Solaria, their four Gunstars, and four Escortstars were behind the fleet serving as a rearguard to prevent Cylon heavy raiders from jumping in and attacking from the rear.

"Launch four viper squadrons to take up a deep CAP between us and the fleet. Have the Solaria do the same thing. I want to be able to hit any Cylon heavy raiders that jump in behind the fleet," Admiral Reynolds ordered his Exec as he pondered the information on the screens.

The Cylons were already launching raiders. One fraken lot of raiders. Vipers were already moving out from Nagala's fleet to engage the incoming raiders at a safe distance from the fleet. He had only just arrived with what remained of Battlestar Group 15.

They had just barely escaped a Cylon ambush in the Caprica system in which BSG 12 had been completely destroyed. The only reason part of his Battle Group survived was because Admiral Kincaid had reached the unknown ships that had appeared in the Caprica system first. When Admiral Reynolds arrived a few minutes later, most of BSG 12 had already been destroyed. Even so, Admiral Reynolds had lost one Battlestar, two Gunstars, and four Escortstars before he was able to extricate what was left of his fleet and jump away. It had taken hours to repair the battle damage and make it to Nagala.

"Have the rest of our vipers and the Solaria's ready to launch as needed," Admiral Reynolds ordered as he looked down at the operation's table, which currently showed the positions of the Cylon Basestars that opposed Admiral Nagala's Battlestars.

"Dradis estimates over 10,000 Cylon raiders currently inbound toward the fleet," Lieutenant Everson reported in disbelief. Her voice quivered slightly as she reported the massive number of inbound Cylon raiders.

"Frak!" Colonel Madden the Executive officer murmured. "That's a lot of raiders; our people are going to be heavily outnumbered." Turning to face Admiral Reynolds, he continued. "With the number of raiders they have this battle may not last long!"

"Take us to Condition One and be prepared to lay down suppression fire if we are targeted by any raiders," Admiral Reynolds ordered as he watched the screens intently. He used his mini com, which allowed him to communicate with the rest of Battlestar Group 15 to pass on the same orders. "Have all remaining squadrons ready to launch at a moments notice!"

For long minutes the dogfight on the Dradis screen raged. While the Colonial vipers were heavily outnumbered, they seemed to be able to turn quicker and accelerate faster then the Cylon raiders. They were taking a heavy toll on the Cylon attack wave.

Raptors armed with interceptor missiles as well as a few ship killer nukes were also heavily involved. The raptors would dart forward fire several interceptors at Cylon raiders destroying them in satisfying fireballs and then retreat. Every so often one would do a short FTL jump toward a Cylon Basestar letting loose a nuke. Invariably these raptors were blown apart by Cylon counter fire. On occasion, a nuclear blast would strike a Cylon ship heavily damaging it. The armor on a Basestar was not near as thick as what a Battlestar carried.

The massive defenses from Virgon and its orbiting defensive satellites were having a big impact on the battle. It was forcing the Cylons to be cautious. The giant PDF satellites were extremely deadly to any raider that got within range of their weapons. Many of the smaller defensive satellites were also functioning forming a deadly killing zone against any Cylon raider that got too close.

Several hours passed as the battle continued to rage. The Cylons seemed content to let their raiders wear down and eliminate the Colonial vipers. Very few major ships on either side had been lost. They were also starting to wear down the orbital defenses around Virgon with continuous waves of attacking raiders. Space around Virgon and the defending Colonial fleet was strewn with the shattered remains of thousands of Cylon raiders.

"Dradis contacts," Lieutenant Everson reported suddenly as a warning tone sounded on her Dradis console. Cylon heavy raiders jumping in to engage the fleet from the rear. Estimate number in excess of 600!"

"Order our CAP to engage," Admiral Reynolds ordered as the Dradis screen became covered with numerous red icons between BSG 15 and Nagala's fleet. "Launch the rest of our squadrons!"

Vipers hurtled out of their launching tubes and hit their turbos to catch up to the CAP squadrons already on their way to engage the Cylons.

"Squadrons closing sir," Lieutenant Everson reported as the green icons on her screen rapidly neared the red ones.

Moments later their squadrons became intermingled with the Cylons and explosions of dying ships begin to light up the view screens in the CIC. Admiral Reynolds felt a clenching of his gut, as he knew that not all those bright reddish yellow explosions were dying Cylons. Colonial vipers were being destroyed as well. A lot of good viper pilots that he had known for years were dying! After a few minutes of intense conflict, the heavy raiders jumped away from the Colonial vipers.

"Recall our squadrons," Admiral Reynolds ordered.

Time passed and the titanic battle waged back and forth with the Cylons slowly pushing the defending human vipers back as fresh waves of Cylon raiders launched from their Basestars and Support Ships. Repeatedly the human vipers fell back to their Battlestars to rearm and refuel and then to be hurled back into battle again.

"Sir, we estimate there are fewer then 400 surviving Colonial vipers still defending the fleet," Captain Jones the tactical officer reported as he was keeping close track of the on going battle. Many of our ships are already using heavy suppression fire to keep Cylon raiders from hitting them with missiles."

"Should we send our vipers to assist," Colonel Madden asked looking over the operation's table at the Admiral.

"What is the current status of our squadrons?" Admiral Reynolds demanded knowing that they had lost a number of pilots in the battle with the heavy raiders.

"We have lost 118 vipers including the ones from the Solaria," Colonel Madden reported as he spoke quickly to the officers in the landing bays that kept up with that information.

"Sir the Cylon Capital ships are beginning to move towards the fleet," Lieutenant Everson reported worriedly.

"Order our fleet to stand by," Admiral Reynolds ordered looking up at the Dradis screen. "If Nagala wants us we must be prepared to move quickly. Bring all of our squadrons in close to our ships and be ready to engage on my command. Make sure that any viper that needs to be rearmed or needs fuel does so now!"

On the screen, the two fleets met and then merged. Missiles and KEW rounds began to impact on vessels of both fleets. Huge explosions could be seen on the view screens as Cylon Basestars exploded as well as human Battlestars and support ships. For what seemed like an eternity, the titanic battle waged.

Why doesn't Admiral Nagala withdraw, try to save some of the fleet? Admiral Reynolds wondered as another Battlestar exploded under the heavy fire of raiders and nuclear missiles. It's almost as if he's trying to buy time for something, but what Admiral Reynolds had no idea. The Cylons numerical advantage was rapidly turning the tide against the embattled human ships. Battlestars, Gunstars, and Escortstars were fading from the Dradis in rapid succession. Cylon ships were dying also but at a slower rate. The fleet was being decimated. The Cylon onslaught was just too powerful.

"Admiral Nagala on Fleet Com Line Alpha," Lieutenant Grace the com officer reported. On the main view screen, the Atlantia was centered. The powerful ship was on fire and explosions could be seen all across the massive ship's hull. Both of her landing bays seemed to have fires burning uncontrollably in them as well.

"Admiral Reynolds," Admiral Nagala began as the Atlantia bore down on an approaching Cylon Basestar. Huge explosions could be seen rocking the Basestar as the Atlantia launched missiles and kinetic rounds at the Basestar trying to destroy it. "I am ordering you to jump away. I am going to transmit the coordinates to where we sent the civilian fleet; you will jump there and take command. The Gunstar commander there will have your orders."

At that moment, a huge explosion rocked the Atlantia. On the view screen, the starboard landing bay was blown completely off the ship. The com fell silent as everyone in the CIC looked at the screen in shock.

"Did we get the coordinates?" Admiral Reynolds barked at Lieutenant Grace whirling to face her.

"No sir," she replied struggling to keep her emotions in check. "We lost communication with the Atlantia at the same time she was hit."

"Sir, the Atlantia!" Colonel Madden spoke loudly trying to get the Admiral's attention.

Admiral Reynolds turned to look at the main view screen just as the Atlantia rammed an attacking Basestar with both ships vanishing in a massive series of explosions; several Basestars close by were also damaged.

"The Atlantia is gone," Lieutenant Everson reported shocked as the Atlantia's Dradis signature vanished from the screen. Admiral Nagala was dead!

"We never received the coordinates from the Admiral," Lieutenant Grace groaned in dismay rechecking her com system. "They were just beginning to send the jump coordinates when all communication stopped. I was never able to reestablish contact."

"Order any surviving fleet vessels to fall back to our position," Admiral Reynolds ordered. Can we raise any other vessels of the fleet?"

"No sir," Lieutenant Grace reported as she tried all the com channels. "All we are picking up are distress calls from viper pilots."

Lieutenant Everson studied her screens intently not wanting to believe what she was seeing. "I don't think there are any major surviving fleet units sir," she reported her throat suddenly feeling very dry.

"Cylon raiders and Basestars bearing down on us," Colonel Madden reported. "I've ordered our vipers to fall back to us."

"Cylon heavy raiders jumping in," Lieutenant Everson reported trying not to sound as panicked as she felt. "Hundreds of them sir!"

"Flak field activated," Captain Jones reported. "Suppression fire initiated."

"Get our vipers aboard," Admiral Reynolds ordered making a quick decision. If they stayed here, they were dead, the battle was over, and the Colonies had lost. Then over his mini com, "Combat landings approved. All ships get your jump drives spun up; we're getting out of here."

"Cylon Basestars in range," Captain Jones reported as green indicator lights indicated they had KEW battery lock as well as missile lock.

"Launch missiles," Admiral Clements ordered clenching his teeth and grasping the operation's table with both hands. "Hit them with everything we've got. As soon as our last bird is on board we jump!"

"Sir the Solaria reports a massive explosion on her port side. Her secondary energizer has been compromised," Colonel Madden reported suddenly."

A few moments later, all the vipers were aboard. Admiral Reynolds felt the Tauri rock as she was slammed with missile after missile from the approaching Cylon Basestars. The suppression fire was intercepting most of the inbound weapons but a few were still getting through. On one of the view screens one of their escorting Gunstars and an Escortstar exploded in nuclear flame as their defenses were swamped.

"Jump us," Admiral Reynolds snapped. If they didn't get out now BSG 15 would be no more. Moments later the small fleet vanished leaving the victorious Cylons behind.

The small fleet jumped into the outskirts of a small star system three light years from the Colonies. "Fleet status," Admiral Reynolds demanded as the Dradis slowly came back on line.

"The Solaria, two Gunstars, and one Escortstar made it out," Colonel Madden reported as he listened to the reports coming in. He paused a moment as he continued to listen to his mini com his face taking on a very serious and worried look. "Sir Commander Livingston of the Solaria reports that they are being forced to open numerous compartments to space to put out fires. Their fire suppression system is off line. The secondary energizer is heavily damaged and one of the Tylium storage bunkers has exploded. He reports that a secondary explosion after our jump has taken out their FTL drive."

Admiral Reynolds paused for a moment. If they had abandoned the vipers, he could have gotten the fleet out safely. But the Colonial fleet didn't leave people behind, no the decision was the right one, they would just have to suffer the consequences. "Order Commander Livingston to prepare to abandon the Solaria. Have all of her surviving vipers and raptors transferred over to us as well as any other supplies we can salvage. We must be prepared to jump as soon as possible. The Cylons could be searching for us at any moment."

"Where will we go?" Lieutenant Everson blurted out without thought as she looked worriedly at the Admiral. Everything and everyone they knew and loved were probably gone!

"I don't know yet Lieutenant," Admiral Reynolds replied trying to sound calm. "But we will try to find a safe place from which we can decide upon our next move. A few hours later, the Tauri and her small fleet left the small system behind.

**CURRENT DAY**

"After we left the Solaria behind we found the civilians and one of the Supply Depots still intact," Admiral Reynolds continued. "We set up our base and have been periodically raiding the Colonies for the supplies we need. We have tried to keep a low profile so the Cylons wouldn't become aware of us."

"It's amazing that you survived this long on your own," Admiral Clements replied, other then what he had heard from Nagala this was the first report he had received from someone that had actually been at the battle of Virgon. "You've done an amazing job Admiral, protecting your command and the civilians you managed to rescue. If you would give me the location of where you left the Solaria I will dispatch two of our Columbia Two Battlestars to recover her."

"I can give you the coordinates sir, but she is heavily damaged." Admiral Reynolds responded shaking his head sadly. "She would need months in a shipyard to be repaired. I just don't know if it would be worth the effort sir."

"Well it just so happens we have a shipyard available Admiral, as a matter of fact we have two," Admiral Clements said with a small smile. Once repaired, the Solaria will make a fine addition to our fleet. "Let me tell you what we have been doing since the attack on our Colonies and about Case Omega."

An hour later Admiral Reynolds leaned back in his chair and took a long hard look at Admiral Clements. It was hard to believe everything the Admiral had told him the past hour, but the fleet surrounding him was proof beyond any doubt. "I can't believe the hope you are offering us," Reynolds said finally. "For months we have been living on the edge, waiting for the Cylons to find us and finish us off. But now we have a safe haven to go to, a place where the civilians can go about almost normal lives once these new colonies you are constructing are completed."

"Also a place for us to rebuild and plan our next move against the Cylons," Admiral Clements stated strongly. "Your fleet experience will be a huge asset Admiral. As soon as we can get you and your people back to our base and let you take some well deserved R and R, I plan on putting you and your people to work."

"Very well Admiral," Reynolds replied knowing that someday he would get the opportunity to strike back at the Cylons for all that they had taken away. "Then let's get the Supply Depot evacuated and the civilians ready to go, unless you want to take the Supply Depot with us?"

"I think we will leave the Supply Depot here for now," Admiral Clements responded with an idea forming in the back of his mind. "It might make an excellent forward base. We can return later and increase its armament as well as bring some small defense satellites to aid in its defense. It will give us a base of operations close to the Colonies."

A few hours later the Tauri, two Gunstars, two Escortstars, two of the Columbia Two Battlestars, four Firestars, and the civilian ships were gone. They would stop and pick up the Solaria and transport it back to their base using the combined FTL drives of the two Columbia Two Battlestars.

Admiral Clements had one more stop he wanted to make before they returned home. There was a large Cylon Tylium operation in a nearby star system that one of the Gunstars had found. Admiral Clements planned on hitting that system and taking as much Tylium as possible with them. Their operations at home were producing some Tylium but not what was needed. Not for all the massive construction and ship repair work they were doing. In addition, he hoped that by hitting the system it would force the Cylons to spread out their forces more. Hopefully pulling some of their Basestars out of the three home systems to protect their scattered bases they were setting up outside the Colonies.

The Aurora and her escorts vanished from the location of the Supply Depot as they jumped to their target. Commander Cain watched one of the main view screens of the Aurora as they jumped into the far outer reaches of the Cylon system they had targeted.

"Our two Gunstars are spinning their FTL drives back up and will jump to the vicinity of the target for a quick recon," he reported to Admiral Clements who was watching the entire operation from his command console. "Our Escortstars are spinning up their drives and will jump on your command."

A few moments later, the two Gunstars jumped. Admiral Clements waited for the Gunstars to report back. This operation was also designed as a preliminary test to see how well the Aurora functioned as a Fleet Command vessel. After about 20 minutes, the two Gunstars returned.

"Major Stokes on board the Hestia reports that there is one Cylon Support vessel in orbit above the Tylium operation on the moon that we have targeted. There are a few small raider patrols in orbit and no sign of any heavy raiders," Commander Cain reported as he listened to the report over his mini com. "We are ready to implement the mission plan."

"Very well Commander, Implement operation Alpha," Admiral Clements ordered leaning forwards slightly in anticipation. This would be the first time since the Fall that they had actually attacked a Cylon target.

Almost instantly, the four Escortstars jumped in flashes of white light. Their job was to jam all outgoing communications from the facility. Two minutes later, the two Assault Gunstars jumped. One minute more passed and Admiral Clements felt the Aurora activate her FTL drive as the rest of the fleet jumped to the target.

Major Stokes felt his stomach quiver as the Hestia jumped to within striking range of the Cylon Support Ship. Almost as large as a Basestar he knew that the twin-disked ship carried a fraking lot of raiders. "Target her FTL drives," he ordered feeling the adrenalin flow through his veins. Moment's later four nuclear tipped missiles left the Hestia's missile launching tubes. The other Assault Gunstar was nearby and he knew that she would be targeting the Support Ship's launching bays.

"Inbound raiders," Lieutenant Evans reported. "Eight contacts closing fast."

On the view screen, Major Stokes watched as their missiles struck the unsuspecting Cylon Support ship. Four large fireballs lit up the Cylon ship. One had struck the massive center pylon, which connected the two huge disks. The other three had struck what were believed to be power-generating sections. The tactical nuclear missiles caused raging uncontrolled fires to begin spreading in the Cylon ship. Secondary explosions could be seen radiating out from the centers of attack. Missiles from the other Gunstar began impacting on various areas of the Support Ship's hull wiping out or damaging the launching bays.

"Her FTL drive is destroyed," Lieutenant Bryant reported. "Support Ship is beginning to launch raiders from her surviving bays!"

"Target her remaining launching bays and continue to close with the target," Major Stokes ordered his eyes going from the Dradis screen to one of the large view screens on the forward wall of the CIC. Normally the Hestia would jump in, launch her missiles, and then jump back out, but it was essential that the landing bays be taken out before any heavy raiders could be launched. The heavy raiders had large enough FTL drives to go for help, something that Admiral Clements didn't want.

With satisfaction, Major Stokes saw two of their missiles impact and explode in one of the Support Ships landing bays affectively disabling it. Almost at the same time, he felt the Hestia shudder and she seemed to jump to the starboard side.

"Cylon raider hit us with two missiles, one was a small tactical nuke," Captain Bryant reported looking at the damage control board. "We have lost six of our point defense turrets and two of our missile tubes are disabled. Raiders are still closing."

"Keep hitting the Support Ship," Major Stokes ordered grimly. "We have to take out the rest of those landing bays!"

"Sir the rest of the fleet is jumping in!" Lieutenant Evans reported with relief in his voice.

Aboard the Aurora Admiral Clements watched his screens as the fleet jumped into orbit around the Cylon Tylium refinery. "Launch all vipers," he ordered as he saw that the two Gunstars were being heavily hit by numerous raiders that had been launched from the Cylon Support ship. "Get those raiders off of those two Gunstars!"

"Scans confirm that the Gunstars have taken out the Cylon's FTL and the majority of her launching bays," Commander Cain reported with satisfaction watching the burning Cylon Support Ship on the screen.

"Very well Commander, fight your ship, I will monitor the fleet as a whole," Admiral Clements ordered from his huge command console, which was flanked by numerous screens and several small Dradis screens.

To the right of him Commander Cain and his command crew stood around a large operation's table. To Admiral Clements left were two fleet tactical officers and two communication officers who were tied directly into the Admiral's com system. In front of the Admiral sat 20 men and women before special consoles and screens that let them command and direct any ship of the fleet or viper squadron as the Admiral saw fit. Around them other men and women of the Aurora manned their stations ready to offer assistance as needed.

Clements watched two small view screens, which were focused on the two Columbia Two Battlestars. Vipers were exploding from their launching tubes and using their turbos heading toward the Cylon raiders hitting the two Gunstars.

"Order the Firestars to launch CAP patrols only," Admiral Clements ordered as he studied his screens. Have them surround the refinery complex. They are to be on watch for any Cylon heavy raider that tries to escape. Any heavy raider is to be taken out by their twin KEW turrets. We can't let them spin up their FTL drives, shoot them down on immediate detection with interceptor missiles or kinetic rounds. Have the Warstars move in and finish taking out that Cylon Support Ship. Once the Warstars begin their attack on the Support Ship, order the Hestia and Demeter to jump back to safety. Tell them job well done!"

The two Gunstars both jumped back to a position behind the fleet as the two larger Warstars began firing their large KEW batteries at the Cylon Support Ship. Both Gunstars had suffered moderate damage and would require some dock time to put the two back into full operating condition.

The vipers closed rapidly with the Cylon raiders that had managed to launch. Only 70 were still operating. Lieutenant Wells had launched from the Aurora with Lieutenant Geller, in just a few moments the first Cylon raider exploded under the withering fire from her viper.

"Slow down Sarah," Mathew's calm voice came over her ship-to-ship com. "Save some for the rest of us!"

"Just follow my lead and try to keep up," she replied with a private determined smile. "She despised the Cylons and the more of them she destroyed the better she felt. Her reunion with her brother had been fantastic but it had also served to remind her of what she had lost, particularly her younger sister!

The two vipers tore through the Cylon formation leaving a wake of destroyed raiders littering their fiery path.

On the Aurora, Admiral Clements watched the two vipers with interest from his command console. One view screen was focused on the two as they weaved through the Cylon formation blowing raider after raider apart in eye boggling moves and gyrations.

"She's one frak of a pilot," Commander Cain said seeing where the Admiral's gaze was focused.

"The best pilot I have seen in a long time," Admiral Clements replied as another raider fell to the viper's fire. "No wonder she was assigned to the Sidon! Her wingman isn't bad either."

"Lieutenant Geller," Commander Cain replied nodding. "They both graduated from the Picon war academy together, they have been flying together ever since."

The two Warstars continued to fire their KEW batteries and close on the reeling Cylon Support Ship. Missiles suddenly left the two Warstars bow tubes and accelerated rapidly toward the Cylon ship. There were no raiders around to shoot them down. In scant moments, the missiles struck followed by additional heavy kinetic rounds. Explosions seemed to roll across the surface of the Support Ship. Two huge nuclear explosions split the ship into two separate burning pieces as two nuclear missiles struck. Follow up KEW rounds from the two Warstars quickly finished her off. Warstars had been designed for one purpose and one purpose only, to close and take out enemy Capital ships. That was why they were so heavily armed and had such thick armor.

"Now that's what I call firepower," Commander Cain commented impressed. "I can't believe we actually decommissioned those ships."

"This is what they were designed for," Admiral Clements replied with satisfaction. The Support Ship was gone and all the Cylon raiders were now off the screen having been rapidly destroyed by the viper squadrons."

Admiral Clements scanned his screens and listened to the reports coming in. Four heavy raiders had been launched from the mining facility on the small moon and had been blasted down immediately by the orbiting Firestars. None had managed to escape.

"Order the marines in Commander Cain," Admiral Clements ordered.

The Aurora was carrying 1,000 marines and enough Nomad Assault Shuttles to transport them down to the surface of the small moon. "I want that refinery captured intact!"

"Yes sir," Commander Cain replied as he began to give the orders to the marine commander who was waiting impatiently in his shuttle in the cavernous launching bay of the Aurora.

An hour later, the refinery and mining operation were under Colonial control. Twenty-six marines had been killed and another 32 injured. The marines had been wearing heavy body armor but there had been nearly 200 Cylon Centurions in the base. Admiral Clements deeply regretted the casualties but they really needed the Tylium.

"Order the Tylium shuttles in, I want them loaded as quickly as possible. Also have the all the Battlestars and Firestars send down their own Tylium shuttles. I want every ship here to leave with a full load of Tylium fuel." Admiral Clements ordered. The fleet had arrived carrying only a 20 percent fuel load. He fully intended to take advantage of this opportunity to correct that deficiency.

Six hours later the tankers were topped off and all the ships of the fleet were fully fueled. As the fleet vanished in their first FTL jump on the way back home the refinery and mining facility erupted in a series of heavy explosions as the demolition charges the marines planted went off. In less then a minute all that remained of the mine and refinery was a glowing heap of rubble and twisted radioactive wreckage.

Two days later the Aurora arrived back at their base inside the glowing cloud of protective gas. On the main view screen, three giant cylinders met their eyes. The fully armed and massive Sidon mining colony, which currently housed nearly 700,000 people. The New Haven colony, which was rapidly nearing completion, and the third asteroid that the pulse lasers were still carving away upon.

Current plans had been changed to allow the New Haven Colony to house nearly one million inhabitants; the third asteroid would be primarily used to raise food and would be divided into three different agricultural levels. It would maintain a work force of nearly 200,000 when completed.

Admiral Clements also knew that plans were being considered to bring in three more massive asteroids. One of them would be designed to hold another one million inhabitants and the fifth would be primarily for food and heavy manufacturing. The sixth colony would be for the military. It would contain a marine training facility, a fleet training facility, plus numerous ammunition and missile production facilities. The colony would also contain two viper production lines, a raptor production line, and an Archangel Bomber production line. It would also be capable of producing spare parts for the fleet.

So much to do Admiral Clements thought. If only we are given the time we need to complete everything. Clements planned on finishing the New Haven Colony and the agro Colony before seriously considering the other three. He didn't want to tie up all his resources building asteroid colonies, not until he and his General Staff took the time to evaluate all the new information. The situation they had learned about on Caprica from General Ashton might force them to change their plans drastically. Admiral Clements wondered if so many civilians had survived on Caprica, what about the other Colonies. Was it possible there were many more survivors scattered about the Twelve Colonies. They would have a lot to consider and a lot to talk about.


	16. Chapter 16

**DAY 148**

Admiral Reynolds and Commander Livingston were standing next to Admiral Clements in the large briefing room on the Sidon. They were gazing out in awe at the view presented. The huge windows overlooked the interior of the colony and showed the bustling Colonial city it protected.

"It's hard to believe everything we have seen here," Admiral Reynolds commented as he stared at the city in amazement. The cities towering skyscrapers and modern towers seemed to have a golden glow of their own in the artificial sunlight.

"How did your meeting with Colonel Peterson go?" Admiral Clements asked turning his attention to Commander Livingston of the Solaria. He knew that the Commander had just returned from the Nexus shipyard where the Solaria had been carefully maneuvered into the large repair bay. The other large repair bay on the Nexus was being used to construct the new Jupiter Class Battlestar Hyperion.

"Better then expected," Commander Livingston replied looking over at Admiral Clements. "Colonel Peterson expects to have the Solaria back to full operation within four months. He plans on doing a complete overhaul and repair job on the ship while he has her in the bay."

"I hope your crews and the civilians you brought with you are enjoying their R & R in the city," Admiral Clements continued with a smile.

Finding Admiral Reynolds and his people had been a surprise and a bonus, particularly considering Admiral Reynolds tactical skills. It gave Admiral Clements another competent Admiral he could depend on to strike the Cylons with. All of Admiral Reynold's people and civilians had been granted a full ten-day pass to enjoy the Sidon's many recreational opportunities.

"Definitely Admiral," Reynolds replied smiling back still finding it hard to accept all that had transpired the last few days. It was hard to believe that life here on the Sidon could seem so normal, but that bustling city out beyond the windows was proof that hope still survived. The Colonies still survived and were a power to be reckoned with.

"I want you and Commander Livingston to enjoy your time off," Admiral Clements continued looking at the two men his eyes taking on a serious look. "We have a large operation to pull off in a couple of months and both of you will be sorely needed for that."

"What type of operation?" Admiral Reynolds asked hoping it involved some type of strike against the Cylons.

From what Admiral Reynolds knew of Admiral Clements, he wouldn't sit still while the Cylons controlled the home worlds. Not if he could do something about it. Not only that but after learning of the warships Admiral Clements had at his disposal, Admiral Reynolds knew that it was only a matter of time before Clements used them against the Cylons.

"We are contemplating an assault on the Cylon positions on Caprica," Clements replied with a grim look on his face."

"Caprica," Commander Livingston spoke in surprise. "The Cylons have concentrated most of their efforts on Caprica. We couldn't even get a raptor in close to the planet. Why Caprica?"

"There is a large resistance movement there being operated by a marine division," Clements replied. "From what we have been able to learn they are protecting several million civilians. That's what the Battlestar Caprica was doing in the Caprica system. We were making contact with the marine Commander."

"The Cylons missed someone high up then," Admiral Reynolds responded showing surprise. "He knew from some of the early communication intercepts they had received, both Cylon and Colonial that the Cylons had hit every military base they could that might be a danger to them.

"You say there are several million survivors on Caprica!" Commander Livingston spoke surprised. "I thought the nukes the Cylons used would have eliminated the civilian population."

"Yes there are," Admiral Clements replied with a tight-lipped grin knowing this would be a dangerous and difficult mission. "The Cylon used a lot of neutron weapons on Caprica but left the less populated areas of the planet more or less intact. Most of the surviving civilians have taken refuge in the World Parks. They missed General Ashton and his marine division. The General managed to evacuate his entire division to a secrete facility in one of the World Parks. With his help, we are planning to make the Cylons occupation of Caprica much more difficult. Once you and your crews have taken some serious R&R, we will meet and discuss this in much more detail. For now just know that you and your crews will be needed."

After Admiral Reynolds and Commander Livingston left, Commander Cain entered the briefing room with Major David Wells and his sister, Lieutenant Sarah Wells following. Both of the junior officers looked a little nervous and unsure of themselves.

All three came to attention as they waited for the Admiral to speak. While Commander Cain knew what was about to happen, the other two had no idea why they had been summoned into the presence of the Commanding Admiral. Both wondered if they had done something wrong.

"At ease people," Admiral Clements said as he looked approvingly at the two junior officers. "Major Wells you have preformed admirably from the reports I have received from Admiral Reynolds and I am pleased to see that you and your crew survived everything that you have been through."

"Thank you sir," Major Wells responded trying to sound calm. "I have a good crew and Admiral Reynolds is a very good leader."

"I am well aware of his leadership and tactical abilities," Admiral Clements replied with an approving nod. "They will be needed in the future."

"Lieutenant Wells, I know that you must be very excited to find that your brother survived. We could all use good news like that. However that is not why you have been summoned here."

Oh frak, Sarah thought, I wonder what I have done now to get into trouble. She stared tight-lipped at the Admiral waiting for the shoe to drop. She would probably be demoted and would be reduced to cleaning up grease and oil in the landing bays. She was sure she was about to become a knuckle dragger.

"From the reports from General Collins and your other Commanders from the various missions you have been on. It has been brought to my attention that you have personably been responsible for destroying at least 18 Cylon raiders and heavy raiders and possibly even more," Clements paused as he stared at the startled Lieutenant.

David looked at his sister in stunned surprise, feeling pride in hearing of his sister's accomplishments. He just wished their father could be hearing this. He would have been so proud of Sarah! David had heard that she was a good pilot, but he had not realized that she was this good. Eighteen confirmed kills!

"That seems about right sir," she responded nervously wondering just what the Admiral was getting around to. Maybe he felt she was flying too dangerously, taking too many risks. "But I could not have taken out so many Cylons without the help of my wingman Lieutenant Geller. He takes a lot of pressure off of me."

"We are well aware of Lieutenant Geller's abilities." Admiral Clements responded his eyes looking deeply into Sarah's. "You two fly extremely well together."

The Admiral eyed the Lieutenant for a moment thoughtfully, then reaching into his pocket he took out a small black box. "Lieutenant Wells, for service beyond expectations and out standing service to the Colonial fleet I hereby promote you to the rank of Major." He opened the box and took out two small gold bars, which symbolized the rank. Sarah stood dumfounded as he carefully pinned them to her uniform.

"Congratulations Major," he said with a smile, backing up and saluting her.

"I don't know what to say sir," she said not believing she had just been promoted to Major. It was almost unheard of for a Lieutenant to be jumped up in rank like this.

"First time I ever heard you speechless," her brother said with a huge grin. He was very pleased with his sister's promotion. He was very proud of his younger sister accomplishments. He knew that their dad would have been also.

"If you are interested I would like to have you transferred to the Aurora," Admiral Clements continued. "As you know the Aurora is designed to hold twelve squadrons of Mark Seven vipers as its normal fighter allotment. However due to our situation we will be increasing that to fourteen. At the moment, we only have four squadrons of Mark 7 vipers on the Aurora; we are still waiting for delivery of the others from the production line here on the Sidon. You will be one of four section leaders with three squadrons under your direct command. You will have three squadron leaders that will report directly to you, all will hold the rank of Captain and will be of your own choosing."

Sarah looked at the Admiral in surprise, she hated leaving the Sidon since it had been her home for several years, but the opportunity to serve on the Aurora was too good to pass up. Plus she strongly suspected, very soon the Aurora would be where all the action was going to be. "Would I still be allowed to fly combat sir?" she asked. If the new job grounded her, she was not certain that this was what she wanted.

"Definitely," Admiral Clements responded with a careful nod. "Your flying skills are badly needed and you will set a great example for your pilots. Plus by being out in the fight, it will allow you to better coordinate and train your squadrons since you will know real time what is happening and what is needed. You will be flying one of the new Mark 8 Command vipers; I think you will like its capabilities. Lieutenant Geller will also be transferred to the Aurora."

"In that case sir I am pleased to accept," Major Sarah Wells replied with a smile.

Admiral Clements stepped forward and shook her hand. "Welcome to the Aurora."

"Major David Wells," he continued turning his attention to David. "You have served admirably as Commander of the Gunstar Triffid. We are short on trained experienced officers capable of holding a major fleet command. Effective today you are hereby promoted to the rank of Commander and will take command of the Warstar Olympia, which is due to be commissioned in two weeks." The Admiral took another small black box out of his pocket and pinned the golden bars of a Commander on the stunned young officer's uniform. This was one part of his job that Admiral Clements definitely enjoyed. Especially when such deserving young people were on the receiving end.

"Thank you sir," Commander Wells replied taking a deep breath so his voice wouldn't quiver, a Warstar, he was being given command of a Warstar! He knew that Warstars had been designed for one mission and one mission only, destroy Cylon Capital ships. "I won't let you down sir."

"Now that this is over I have one more thing for the two of you," Admiral Clements continued with a relaxed smile spreading across his face. "You are both being granted a five day leave here on the Sidon. Accommodations have been arranged for both of you at one of the major motels in the city. Enjoy it because when you come back you are both going to be very very busy!"

The two left the briefing room still hardly believing what had just happened.

"I am going to the Aurora as a flight commander," Sarah breathed excitedly as they walked down the well-lit hallway outside the briefing room.

"I almost feel sorry for the Cylons," her brother said with a big smile on his face.

"And you got command of a Warstar!" Sarah continued her eyes widening. "That's one very big ship brother dear."

"So it is," David replied smiling. "A lot bigger then my Gunstar, but the Triffid is a good ship."

Back in the briefing room, Commander Cain stood next to Admiral Clements as they looked out the big windows over the interior of the Sidon. The lush green farms that surrounded the city made the entire scene look very peaceful. Almost made you forget that they were in the middle of a war, a war that they had been losing.

"Those were two very good promotions sir," Commander Cain said pleased with the recent events.

"Those are two very good people Commander," Admiral Clements responded. "We could use more like those two; those are the kind of people that will help us win this war someday!"

Later that evening Sarah and David were in the restaurant Caprica's Dreams preparing to eat their first real meal in months. Sarah normally ate in one of the fleet cafeterias and very seldom ventured out into the city.

"This city is remarkable!" David said taking a bite out of a sweet bread roll. "I can't believe what I have seen here on the Sidon. You made the right decision coming here sis."

"Thank you David," Sarah said smiling pleased that her brother understood. She had felt so bad all these years keeping her real assignment from her family. Around them in the restaurant, other diners were eating their meals as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. It was nice to get away from their duties for a while.

Looking up, she saw Mathew walk in with Lieutenant Cindy Everett. For a moment, she felt a pang of jealousy and then tensed as she saw Mathew spot them and head over toward their table.

"Hello Sarah," Mathew said smiling.

"Mathew, I want you to meet my brother David and Lieutenant Cindy Everett one of my viper pilots," Sarah responded feeling a little tinge of envy at the short revealing dress that Lieutenant Everett was wearing. Sarah had not realized just how good a figure Cindy possessed. Her dress set off her figure very well.

David rose and shook Mathew's hand. "I have heard a lot about you lieutenant," David said with a twinkle in his eye suspecting that Sarah had hidden feelings for Mathew. He could tell just from the way she talked about him that they were more to each other then just fellow pilots. "Would the two of you care to join us?"

Later after a filling satisfying meal, the four sat relaxing listening to the music that a very good musical band was playing in the restaurant. Mathew and Sarah were in a deep discussion about their new assignments on the Aurora. David and Cindy were discussing some of the places on Picon that they had been to on leave over the years. David had been surprised to find out that Cindy had been born on Picon and spent most of her youth there before moving to Leonis when her father had been transferred there as part of his civilian job.

There was a small dance floor in the restaurant that a few couples were taking advantage of to dance to the wonderful music. It was a very romantic atmosphere. David took Cindy's hand and led her out onto the dance floor, the two instantly falling into the beat of the dance steps as if they were one.

"You know that Mathew is crazy about Sarah," Cindy said looking back at the two who were sitting next to each other at the table deep in talk seemingly oblivious to everything else around them."

"Yea I sort of get that impression," David replied smiling pulling Cindy a little closer. They seemed to flow across the dance floor in perfect harmony.

Looking back at the table, he saw Mathew rise and put out his hand for Sarah gesturing at the dance floor. Sarah seemed to hesitate for a moment with a slight frown crossing her face, then she rose taking Mathew's hand and followed him almost hesitantly out onto the dance floor.

"I can't believe she is actually going to dance with him," Cindy said catching her breath in surprise. "She tries so hard to keep her distance."

A moment latter Mathew and Sarah began to slowly dance across the floor with Sarah keeping a slight cautious distance between her and Mathew. She could feel her heart pounding and she almost wished that she had stayed at the table. She felt Mathews arm slide around her waist and pull her close as the music changed to a slow romantic song. For a moment, she resisted and then felt her body touch Mathews. It was like an electric shock! She almost turned to run but fought back the urge, allowing herself to live the moment. For the first time in months, she felt like a real woman. She relaxed in Mathew's powerful arms as they moved across the dance floor. What harm would a couple of dances do, she thought placing her head on Mathew's shoulders.

"They look so good together," Cindy said watching them pleased that Sarah was relaxing and seemed to be enjoying the music and the dancing.

Mathew nodded smiling. For the moment, things couldn't be any better.

**DAY 150**

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR **

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

The human Cylons were meeting aboard the Command Basestar in orbit above Caprica. The events of the last several weeks had been troubling to say the least.

"Our investigation while not complete has provided us with some worrisome information," James Cavil spoke looking around the assembled group. "From the evidence provided by our surviving raiders and from the destroyed vipers we were able to recover. We know that at least two human Battlestars were involved in the destruction of our two Basestars in this system. They were the Valkyrie Class Battlestar Caprica and the Mercury Class Battlestar Tauri!"

"The Caprica," the blond Cylon said with concern in her voice as she turned to face Cavil with worried eyes. "That's Admiral Clement's Command ship, if the Caprica survived then in all probability so did he!"

"Admiral Clements was fourth in command of the Colonial fleet," the dark haired number Eight stated not liking the implication. "His survival could be a very big threat, which could explain a lot of what has been going on in the Colonies."

"Not only that but Admiral Reynolds commands the Tauri, he is a very capable commander in his own right," Simon commented frowning at Cavil. "This is not the type of news I was hoping for."

"From some of the scanning information we recovered from our raiders, we know that at least two Gunstars were present with the Tauri," James Cavil continued feeling anger at this interference in the plan.

"We also found one of our Tylium refineries destroyed in the Sigma six system," the blonde Cylon continued. "The Support Ship and all of her raiders had been destroyed and the base leveled."

A Doral model looked around the group before voicing his worried thoughts. "I think we can assume that Admiral Clements is the one behind the disappearance of the Colonial units we have been searching for. I am talking about the Sidon mining colony, the Nexus shipyards, and the five Supply Depots. Add that to Admiral Reynolds and part of his fleet surviving, we may have a very serious problem."

"If Admiral Clements did indeed survive, then things might not have proceeded with the destruction of the Caprican shipyard as we had assumed," the dark haired number eight commented frowning. "Admiral Stockwell was docked to the shipyard with BSG 9 at the time of the attack, as well as a large number of civilian vessels. That would mean that the Mercury Class Battlestar Picon, the Jupiter Class Battlestar Cimitar, the two Columbia Two Class Battlestars that were attached to BSG 9 probably survived plus their support ships!"

The blonde human Cylon nodded deep in thought. "I think we have to assume that Admiral Clements escaped the shipyards with the Caprica, BSG 9 and an unknown number of civilian ships. He now also has part of BSG 15 and Admiral Reynolds at his disposal."

"So now we have three very dangerous Admirals on the loose," Cavil stated not feeling happy about this developing situation. He wished that Darien or John would return soon, he might need their ships. Admiral Clements, Admiral Reynolds, and Admiral Stockwell all three were very serious threats to the Cylon plan!

"That gives us a pretty good idea of their fleet capability," the number Eight replied. We know that the Solaria was very heavily damaged before she jumped. If Clements has the rest at his disposal that gives him one Valkyrie Class Battlestar, two Mercury Class Battlestars, possibly two or more Jupiter Class Battlestars if they have manage to repair the Solaria, the two Columbia Two Class Battlestars, six to eight Gunstars, and an unknown number of Escortstars."

"A sizable and dangerous fleet," Simon replied looking at Cavil.

"The two Columbia Two Class training Battlestars with BSG 9 were loaded with cadets in their final year of training," the blonde Cylon added. "I was afraid something like this would happen when we attacked the Colonies. Darien is still missing with nearly a quarter of our fleet chasing that mysterious Colonial fleet from that secret base. He has been gone for months and we haven't heard back from him. There has been no communication or a returning Basestar with news, just nothing. He has the reserve Hub with him also! John has left with another quarter of our fleet chasing the Galactica and the civilian fleet she is protecting."

"Don't worry about Darien and John!" Cavil snapped suddenly feeling angry. "It's just taking them longer then expected. They will be back."

"Now we have Admiral Clements to worry about," Leoben commented not liking where everything was going. "He has enough ships at his disposal to cause us some serious problems."

"Not enough," Cavil replied in a loud voice wishing he had more ships at his disposal. "We will inform Cylon of the developments here. We will keep enough Basestars in the three systems to handle any attack by this force and we will disperse the rest. By attacking the refinery, we know that they are in need of supplies. We will station our Basestars and Support Ships so as to set a trap for this surviving human fleet. Next time they appear it will be their last!"

"What about Adama and Admiral Cain, has John reported back on his search for them?"

"Communications with John has become more difficult because of the distance involved," James replied, he hesitated before adding. "He has had the Hub moved closer to his current position so as to allow the resurrection function to continue to work."

"Moved the Hub!" Simon spoke with concern in his voice looking at James accusingly. "What about us? What if we need to download in case these humans attack?"

"Don't worry," the Hub is still close enough to us to use the resurrection ships. Several resurrection subspace booster satellites have been deployed between us and the Hubs current position to allow the resurrection function to work. It will not be moved any further away. I have John's assurance on that."

"What about the humans they are pursuing?" The blonde six asked wishing the Hub hadn't been moved at all. They had never tried resurrections from such a great distance. She wasn't that confident in the subspace booster satellites either. She wasn't sure she trusted John not to keep moving the hub, if his pursuit of Adama and the civilian fleet he protected continued to move away from the Colonies.

"We don't know," James replied uneasily. "They have dropped out of sight again."

**DAY 155**

**DEEP SHELTER BASE**

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton, Colonel Edwards, Major Rice, and Colonel Adams were in the CIC preparing to activate the two massive Planetary Defense Satellites. Colonel Adams sat in front of a large computer console that had been reconfigured to control the two satellites; a backup console had also been set up to act as an emergency control station in case of a failure of the primary station.

"How close are we Colonel?" General Ashton asked as he gazed about the massive CIC knowing that they were about to announce their presence to the Cylons very loudly. He knew that as soon as they activated the two satellites the Cylons were going to react instantly. Probably with an all out attack on the two satellites to try to take them out before they could be used against them.

"We're ready sir," Colonel Adams replied as he keyed in the last necessary command and got a positive response from both satellites. "I have inputted all the proper codes and have programmed the satellites defensive and offensive options depending on the Cylon's response. We are as ready as we are ever going to be."

General Ashton was ready and starting to feel impatient. Over the last few weeks, the influx of people into the parks under their control had turned into a flood. Thousands of new people were arriving daily. He estimated that they were down to less then a month's worth of food and supplies. The new people were being processed as rapidly as possible and he had been forced to deploy most of the marines from the base to help keep peace and a semblance of order in the parks. Living conditions in the parks was hard and he knew that people were dying daily from a lack of proper nutrition and a lack of medical supplies.

If they could succeed in positioning the two satellites, it would create a safe corridor nearly five hundred kilometers wide and nearly a thousand kilometers long on the surface. It would allow them to scavenge for food supplies outside the parks and possibly allow them to find enough additional supplies for a few more months. Once the satellites were positioned, they were going to send a raptor to each one with a small crew to man the satellites command center. The ten-man crew would handle repairs as well as monitor any Cylon attempt to hack into the satellites computer systems.

The Cylon Centurions were advancing again driving the surviving humans before them. They were using their Centurions and heavy raiders to destroy any human pockets of resistance they encountered. It seemed to General Ashton as if the Cylons were trying to drive all the surviving humans toward the parks. Already the Cylons had control of nearly 70 percent of the surface of Caprica and that was growing daily. Only the mountainous regions and the vast world parks remained untouched. Admiral Clements had told him he needed to hold out for three months before he could be reinforced and resupplied. General Ashton intended to do just that, even though he wasn't sure what Admiral Clements had in mind.

"Activate the satellites," he ordered.

Colonel Adams pressed home two keys on his control console and the activation commands were sent to the satellites. Now all they could do was wait and see what the Cylon response was going to be.

High above Caprica the two satellites began to power up as their primary energizers came back on line. Dradis tracking screens and scanners began to sweep the area around the two satellites looking for potential targets. The twin defensive turrets scattered across the hull became active as they powered up and flak rounds were automatically fed into their magazines.

After a few minutes both satellites began to move slowly in their orbit as station keeping thrusters began firing. The thrusters were designed to keep the massive satellites in their orbits as well as to move them into new orbits if the need arose. They were now firing the thrusters and moving to the new coordinates that had been programmed into their systems.

A series of complicated firewalls had been put in place by Colonel Adams in the control systems to prevent Cylon access; these had been specifically designed back on the Sidon after analyzing the Cylon's attack that had paralyzed the fleet and Planetary Defense Mainframes. Colonel Adams had been assured that they would prevent the Cylons from hacking into the satellite's systems. In case of any detected Cylon access to the main computer systems on the satellites, they were programmed to switch to back ups. Once they had switched to their backups, the main systems would shut down and reboot their systems purging themselves of any Cylon virus. The ten man crews being sent to the satellites would ensure that this occurred.

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

On board the Cylon Command Basestar, alarms began to go off. The human Cylons in control hurriedly rushed to the Command Center to see what had happened.

"How is this possible!" the blonde Cylon demanded as she saw the two defense satellites moving. Pressing her hands into the neural net, she sent commands to the two satellites to shut down. Nothing happened! Her commands never reached the satellites. The program that should have responded to her demands was not present, or it was not responding. "We have lost control of those two satellites," she said her eyes widening with concern. "They are not responding to our commands!"

"Now we know what the Caprica was doing back in the system," the Eight replied worriedly as she watched the two deadly satellites on her screens. "They must have had control of those two satellites from the start and just shut them down when they left, when the Caprican Shipyard was destroyed. Our virus didn't shut them down they did!"

"The Caprica must have contacted the resistance movement on the planet and given them the command codes for the satellites," James responded his eyes showing anger at the sheer audacity of this attempt by the humans to resist the Cylon occupation of Caprica. "If they can position those two satellites above their base, they will be very difficult to take out from orbit. We will have to depend on our ground forces to eliminate the humans on the surface."

"Can we attack those two satellites and destroy them?" Simon asked as he watched the two satellites on one of the large view screens. The two satellites seemed massive. Each one was 2,000 meters in diameter.

"No!" the Eight replied shaking her head worriedly. "We only have three Basestars and two Support Ships in orbit. If we try to take out those two satellites, they could wipe out our entire force. Those satellites are huge and have both offensive and defensive capabilities as well as very thick protective armor! They were designed to protect Caprica!"

"We have to attack them immediately to see if they have full control of the satellite's offensive and defensive weapons," James spoke knowing that he couldn't afford to allow these two satellites to take up a position over the resistance base on the surface of Caprica if there was any chance he could stop them. "Order the two Support Ships to engage the satellites with their raiders that should tell us how much control the humans have over the two satellites. Maybe we can take them out before they finish positioning them, especially if all their systems aren't on line yet."

A few minutes later nearly 800 Cylon raiders hurled themselves at the satellites. The two satellites upon detecting the Cylon attack went into rapid auto fire on their point defense as well as their interceptor missiles. The satellites had been designed to withstand just this type of attack. The satellites launched interceptor missiles in sprint mode and the Cylon formations become dotted with exploding craft and detonating missiles.

"Recall the raiders before they are all destroyed!" James ordered loudly as anger spread across his livid face. It was very evident that the humans had full control of both satellites including their weapons. This was a major set back for the plan.

The Cylon raiders quickly aborted their attack runs leaving over 200 of their number behind in shattered burning debris. The few Cylon tactical nukes that impacted on the two satellites did very little damage to the heavy reactive armor of the satellites.

"We need a plan to deal with these satellites," Simon spoke with concern over this new set back to the plan. "They must be taken out."

"They will be," James replied determinedly. "We just need to decide on the best approach to this problem."

"I suggest we destroy the other satellites in orbit," the blonde Cylon said. "If they were to gain control of the other PDSs we would be forced to leave orbit completely. They are just too powerful! We should have destroyed them all when we first took over Caprica. We made a huge mistake in not doing so. With Darien and John gone with nearly half of our fleet, we can't afford major fleet losses trying to take out these satellites!"

A few minutes' later missile fire and kinetic weapons fire destroyed the other satellites. James then ordered the raiders to take out all the smaller defensive satellites in orbit as well as any other satellites they could find that could possibly be used for communication or scanning. They didn't know if the humans on the surface had access to these other satellites, but by eliminating the satellites it made sure that option wasn't available.

**DEEP SHELTER BASE**

**CAPRICA**

"That was to be expected," General Ashton said as many of the screens in the Command Center blanked out as the Cylons took out most of the orbiting satellites.

"I had hoped they would not take out the other defense satellites," Colonel Adams responded shaking his head in disappointment. "In time we might have been able to gain back control of them." He reached forwards and activated several programs on his console instantly most of the screens in the CIC came back on. They were receiving their data from the two orbiting defense satellites.

In a little over six hours, the two satellites were in their positions. The two raptors had successfully docked and their ten-man crews were aboard. General Ashton had no doubt that the Cylons would be able to figure out their location very accurately by the location of the satellites. It really didn't matter. They had supplies to get and a war to wage. Starting today, the Cylons would find their Centurions were going to have a very tough time.

"Let's get the supply runs started," General Ashton ordered. "I also want our Archangel Bombers on round the clock strikes on Cylon positions within our defensive envelope. I want the Cylons driven back away from the civilians!"

"Yes sir," Colonel Edwards replied excited about finally being able to go on the offensive. It was about time they took the fight back to the Cylons. In the six World Parks under their control, they currently had 1,500 well-trained marines in each. In addition, there were another 3,000 to 4,000 trained civilians who had been put through basic training and were now fully armed and on duty in each park as well. They wouldn't be as good as the marines but they would be useful.

More civilians were undergoing training and Colonel Edwards hoped to add another 20,000 to the military ranks in another two months. That would give them nearly 45,000 trained men and women to defend the parks with. Also many of the civilians who were not undertaking military training had been armed with heavier caliber weapons replacing the lighter hunting rifles many had in their possession. A large number had hunting experience and had been very pleased to receive the heavier weapons to defend their families with. Yes, it was definitely time to take the fight back to the Cylons. No longer would they be allowed to move forward unopposed.


	17. Chapter 17

**DAY 230**

**IONIAN NEBULA**

**SIDON MINING COLONY**

Admiral Clements paced nervously in front of the massive window that overlooked the interior of the Sidon colony in the large briefing room. In less then ten days they would be launching a full-scale attack upon the Cylons at Caprica. The purpose of the attack was not to free Caprica of Cylon control, but to resupply the Marine base and displaced civilians that they were protecting, it would definitely reveal to the Cylons a lot of the Colonial's capability. After this attack, the Cylons would know they had a serious problem

He wondered almost guiltily if he would be able to find out the fate of his wife and friends that had been in Caprica city when it was nuked. He knew there were several million civilian survivors in the World Parks, but most of these were from outlying areas away from the main cities. He doubted that any of his friends had survived. His wife, his son, all the family he had back on Caprica were gone!

Behind the Admiral, he heard the door open as his Command Staff began to file in. He continued to stare out the window at the bustling Colonial metropolis that lay stretched out across the enclosed colony. The shops, businesses, offices, and other buildings that made the small metropolis run were very busy at this time of day, fully staffed with civilians going about their daily jobs. Taking a deep breath and marshalling his composure, he turned and took his place at the long conference table. He noticed that everyone was present, including Captain Reed who had informed him earlier they had decoded the last Cylon communication intercepts and that they contained a lot of important information that the General Staff needed to be briefed on.

"Good afternoon everyone," Admiral Clements began as he sat down gesturing for everyone else to do the same. "This meeting is to complete our planning of the assault on Caprica, which we have tentatively scheduled for ten days hence. However before we begin, Captain Reed has some information she would like to share with us."

Captain Reed stood up and walked to the front of the room pausing for a moment as she looked at the assembled General Staff. "As you all know," she began looking through several sheets of paper that she was holding. "The Cylons changed their communication codes several months ago and we were not able to decipher any more of their messages, we got lucky in that one of the human Cylons we are holding volunteered to break the code for us. Yesterday we succeeded in deciphering their latest messages and we received several shocks. The first and probably the most interesting is that the Battlestar Pegasus has found the Galactica and the civilian fleet she is protecting."

"The Galactica and Pegasus together!" Admiral Reynolds said shaking his head with worry. "I can't see Bill Adama letting Admiral Cain take over his command. There will be fireworks and those two will eventually collide. Adama might have been better off without the Pegasus finding them as much as I hate to say it."

"But they are together!" Admiral Stockwell commented looking over at Admiral Reynolds. "The Pegasus is the newest Mercury Class Battlestar we have; she will be a welcome addition to the protection of that civilian fleet Adama has been protecting. With her viper production facilities, she can rearm the Galactica. All the Galactica has at her disposal now are a couple of old squadrons of Mark 2 vipers. The Pegasus can replace those with modern Mark 7 vipers."

"Evidently for the moment they are working together quite well," Captain Reed replied continuing her briefing. "From the latest Cylon intercepts we have decoded the two met up about two months ago. They have successfully launched an attack against a Cylon resurrection ship and its two protecting Basestars destroying all three!"

"Holy frak, that sounds like Admiral Cain alright. She is the only one that would risk an attack like that while guarding a fleet of civilians," Admiral Reynolds said shaking his head. "I'm surprised Commander Adama went along with that."

"Do we know where they are now," Admiral Clements asked wondering if they could mount a rescue operation to locate Adama, Cain, their ships, and bring them back.

"The attack occurred in the Gamma sector," Captain Reed replied.

"Nearly 1,200 light years from the Colonies!" Admiral Anders commented amazed at the distance. "If we launched a rescue fleet now, it would take us nearly a month just to get to that area and our reports are nearly two months old. They could be anywhere by the time we reach their last known position. They have to keep moving to stay ahead of the Cylons!"

"Is there anything in the current intercepts to indicate where the Galactica and the Pegasus are now?" Admiral Clements asked knowing that a rescue operation was probably out of the question.

"No sir," Captain Reed replied shaking her head. "The pursuing Cylon fleet is nearly at the end of their communication range, even with the subspace satellite relays they have evidently lain down. From the last reports, they are now over 1,500 hundred light years from the Colonies and still moving away. They have also moved some type of installation they refer to as the Hub to a midpoint between the pursuing fleet and the Colonies. We don't know what it is other then it's very heavily guarded. We have asked our Cylon prisoners but they have been very evasive in their answers."

"The Hub," Colonel Peterson repeated to himself. "Is it a target we may want to take out?"

"It's a thought," Admiral Clements replied looking over at Colonel Peterson. "But the distance involved and the fact that it's heavily guarded suggests we might want to leave it alone for now. Is there anything else Captain Reed?"

"Yes sir and this might be very important," Captain Reed continued as she looked down at the papers she was holding. She knew that the Admiral and the others would not like what she was about to reveal, it had upset her considerably when she had read the intercepts. "The Cylons are evidently holding a large group of young people on Picon. From the communication intercepts we estimate this group as being between 300,000 to 400,000 individuals from the ages of fourteen to twenty two years of age."

"What the frak!" General Abramson exploded with anger spreading across his face. "What are the Cylons doing with all those kids?"

"We believe from the intercepts, that they are being studied and perhaps even subjected to some type of medical experimentation," Captain Reed replied in a more subdued voice, her blue eyes holding a pained upset look.

"We can't allow this," Major Davidson said standing up his face turning lived. "We can't allow the Cylons to experiment on those children!"

"I agree," General Collins joined in wondering what type of horrors those young people could be experiencing. "We must mount some type of rescue operation!"

"We need more information before we do anything," Admiral Clements replied pondering what could be done. "If they are indeed holding these children we must do something." Clements paused thinking very deeply. He knew that mounting a rescue operation of this type at Picon would be extremely dangerous. "Admiral Stockwell I want two Gunstars sent to Picon immediately to see if they can spot the holding facilities. They are to gather as much information as possible on the facility and defenses surrounding it, also on the number of ships the Cylons have in orbit."

"Yes sir," Admiral Stockwell nodded thinking about what would be needed for the operation. "I will set up a reconnaissance mission as soon as we are done here!"

"There is one more item you might want to check," Captain Reed said breaking in. "As you know the Picon moon Celeen has the largest Tylium production mines and refineries in the Colonies, excluding the Caspian system. It also has a marginal atmosphere. From what we have managed to decode, the Cylons have over 200,000 Colonial military personnel working the facilities as slave labor!"

"Where did they get all these people?" Mayor Patterson asked feeling stunned. The air on that moon, he knew was barely breathable, the working and living conditions would be almost impossible.

"They are from all the Colonies," Captain Reed replied. "Many were captured in the initial attack and others have been picked up as the Cylons have spread out across the Colonies and outposts."

"So our problem now becomes two fold," Admiral Stockwell commented leaning back in his chair, a concerned frown on his face. "If we rescue the children then we must rescue this second group also. I doubt if we will get a second chance. If we rescue one group and not the other I guarantee you the first thing the Cylons will do will be to execute the group we leave behind."

"Admiral Stockwell, have the two Gunstars check the moon also," Admiral Clements ordered not liking where all this was headed. He didn't know what they could do anytime soon. "Once we have a better understanding of what we are up against we can begin to formulate a plan. Now let's focus on our planned attack upon Caprica that has to be our first priority."

"Admiral Stockwell you will be leading the attack upon Caprica, what is your current status?" Admiral Clements asked looking over the table at the Admiral. He knew that Admiral's Stockwell and Reynolds had been working on their battle plans for several weeks now, even rehearsing them with their respective fleets.

We will be using two Mercury Class Battlestars, the Picon and the Canopus, the Jupiter Class Battlestar Cimitar, plus six Columbia Two Class Battlestars, and six Assault Class Gunstars. The Cylons currently have three Basestars and four Support Ships orbiting Caprica. We will hit what we believe is the Command Basestar and two of the Support Ships with the Gunstars. The Gunstars will attempt to destroy the Command Basestar's FTL drive. They will be ordered not to withdraw until the FTL drive is confirmed damaged or destroyed."

"Won't that pose a considerable risk to the two Gunstars Admiral?" Clements asked. Gunstars against a Basestar was not something he wanted to see.

"Yes sir, but it will be worth it if we can take out that Basestar when our Battlestars arrive, Admiral Stockwell replied. " If we can destroy it, we may very well delay any type of Cylon reinforcements for a considerable length of time, which will give us more time to conduct operations around Caprica. We know from our Cylon captives that it takes two days for them to download into a new body. If we take out their Command Staff, we could delay any type of retaliatory response for several days. The other Gunstars will be targeting the launching bays of the Support Ships to hinder or reduce the number of raiders they can launch against us. We will allow the Gunstars two minutes to commence their attack before we jump in. Our primary target will be the Command Basestar and the four Support Ships. If we can eliminate them quickly the other Basestars will probably jump away to get help or to wait for orders."

"It may take the Cylons awhile to respond if you do succeed in taking out the Command Ship," Admiral Clements replied thoughtfully, wondering just how the Cylon command structure was set up. If they could hinder or incapacitate it the benefits would be considerable.

"We will be using our Escortstars to jam communications in all three Colonial star systems," Admiral Reynolds continued. "Initially I was considering only a twenty-hour period of jamming but if Admiral Stockwell succeeds in taking out the Command Basestar, then I suspect a 40 to 70 hour jamming period will be more appropriate. This will further endanger our Escortstars, as I am sure the Cylons will be searching for the source of the jamming, but I believe the risk will be worth it. Our Defender Class Gunstars have been laying jamming satellites throughout the systems for the last month. Each Escortstar will control ten of these satellites."

"Major Styles is the Indram ready?" Admiral Clements asked wondering about that part of the plan. The Indram would play an important role in what he planned over the next few months for Caprica.

"Yes sir, we have completed the modifications and my crew is ready," Major Styles replied with a determined look upon his face. "The Cylons will be in for a rude surprise if they think she is still a Supply Depot. With the weapons we have added she is now more heavily armed then a Battlestar!"

"Admiral Reynolds, are you ready to hit Ragnar Anchorage?" Admiral Clements asked turning his attention back to the young Admiral.

The supplies and munitions at Ragnar would be highly useful if the Cylons had not removed or destroyed them. Most of these supplies would be going to the marine base as well as the civilians still trapped on Caprica.

"Yes sir," Admiral Reynolds replied nodding his head. "We will have one Mercury class Battlestar the Tauri, the Jupiter Class Battlestar Solaria, two Columbia Two Class Battlestars, and six Defender Class Gunstars. The Cylons have been keeping one Basestar and two Support Ships just outside the Anchorage. Our Gunstars will jump in and attempt to take out the FTL drives on all three. While the Defender Class Gunstars don't have the missile punch the Assault Class does, I believe they can do the job. We will jump in exactly two minutes after the Gunstars have started their attack and take out all three of the Cylon ships. Once we have eliminated the Cylon ships we will bring in the supply ships and the Marine Assault ship and take the Anchorage."

"General Collins what is the current status of the New Haven Colony, we are about to bring 500,000 civilians back with us, are we going to be ready?" Admiral Clements asked knowing that work crews had been working day and night trying to get the new colony as ready as possible. Many civilians from the fleet had been working hard as well in the construction.

"Yes sir," General Collins replied. "We have put 150,000 more civilians into the Sidon. That pretty well maxis us out without putting a heavy strain on our resources. The power systems, the oxygen regenerations systems, the gravity systems, and most of the plant life have been completed or established in the New Haven Colony. We have had almost four months to work on the colony enclave itself. We need at least another three to have it fully functional. We estimate we can put about 300,000 people in tent communities around the outside of the main city construction site. They won't' be very comfortable and they will be packed in pretty close, but we believe we can handle it. With the people we have transferred to construction projects and those that have joined the fleet, we will have room for about 600,000 on the orbiting ships. If we can stay on our schedule we can have them off the ships in about four to five months."

"What about Agro 1?" Admiral Anders asked. "Are we going to have the food for this many people without the new agro colony?"

Agro 1 was the third asteroid that had been brought into orbit. It was to be divided into three separate habitats to be used to grow food for the Colonials. It had only been available to be worked on now for about a month. It had been smoothed down to its cylinder shape but not much past that.

"We estimate six months to have the three farming levels in Agro 1 complete," General Collins replied recalling the meeting he had the day before with his construction people and Mayer Patterson. "We are taking most of our reserve food supply to Caprica to help with the food shortages there, while the food supply here will be tight, we do have two Agro ships plus the Sidon's own farms. We should be ok. We won't starve but we won't be gaining any weight either."

"So with all we have to do, it might be four to six months before we can launch a rescue operation of the children and the enslaved miners at Picon," General Abramson commented with worry in his voice.

There was a quiet pause in the room as everyone weighed the ramifications of that concern, knowing and feeling the truth behind it. Could they dare wait that long before attempting a rescue!

"We shall see," Admiral Clements replied not liking the idea of waiting that long. Perhaps they could speed up the work on the new asteroid colonies some how. Who knew what the Cylons might be doing to those kids and the fleet personnel on Celeen? "Let's take care of the marine base and the civilians on Caprica first and then we will see about what we can do for the others."

Major Sarah Wells was in the viper pilot's briefing room looking over the faces of nearly 80 pilots. Most were very young! She allowed the room to fall into quiet as all eyes slowly turned toward her.

Mathew Geller stood next to her with his new Captain's rank as the room became very quiet. He was still Sarah's wingman as well as assistant squadron leader. Their one romantic night together on the Sidon had not been mentioned and had been put behind them. Even though nothing had happened after they left the restaurant, there was now a special bond between the two that didn't need words.

For several months, Sarah had been working her squadrons nearly around the clock getting them prepared for combat. The majority of the pilots in the room were very young with little or no combat experience. She had managed to talk Colonel Steele into allowing her to transfer fourteen experienced pilots from the Sidon to give her some pilots with combat experience plus a good background in combat techniques. Mathew and the fourteen pilots from the Sidon had drilled the younger viper pilots' nearly non-stop in order to get them ready for the dangers that lay ahead.

"Our squadron designations are black, blue, and red dagger squadrons," Sarah began in a calm voice, her eyes sweeping across the waiting pilots. "Your Dradis screens have now been set so they will show the individual squadron colors so there will be no doubt who you are engaging or who is in your immediate area. In most combat operations, we will probably be outnumbered and don't under any circumstances underestimate your enemy. The Cylons are cold and ruthless; they will blow your ass out of space if given the opportunity. Captain Geller will you please go over the Op for today's drill."

Mathew cleared his throat slightly before beginning. "The drill for today is an assault on Beta Leonis. Blue and Red squadrons will act as aggressors and Black squadron will act as defenders. Twelve training drones have been placed in orbit around the planet. The goal of the attackers is to destroy all twelve drones, the defenders to prevent their destruction. From the start of the scenario the attacking squadrons have exactly 30 minutes to complete their mission, the losing squadrons will be buying drinks for everyone tonight in the rec center as well as an extra tour of CAP patrol for the fleet. Go to your vipers, the drill will start in one hour, good luck and good hunting."

An hour later, Sarah drifted in her Command viper 10,000 kilometers above Beta Leonis. Her Command viper was 20 percent larger then a normal viper with more power and additional communication and scanning screens. It also was capable of carrying extra missiles, by adjusting her Dradis or the small screens to either side she could easily monitor the entire drill as well as listen in on the action.

Captain Geller was above and slightly to the right of Sarah also keeping a cautious eye on the trainees.

Blue and Red squadrons were moving toward their targets in mass, with the two squadron leaders Captain Aaron Strom and Captain Janice Dupree in constant communication.

"I don't plan on buying drinks tonight!" Captain Strom muttered as Black squadron began to show up on his Dradis. "Let's make short work of this and finish Black squadron off."

"I'm with you," Captain Dupree replied. Black squadron consisted of all the pilots from the Sidon plus six of the younger pilots under command of Captain Steven Gilman.

"It looks like they are concentrating on defending only four of the drones." Captain Dupree replied with surprise in her voice. "I suggest we split up and take out all the other drones and then hit Black squadron from two sides, which should allow us to separate them and take them out one by one. Then the final four drones should be easy pickings." Moments later the two squadrons separated suddenly and hit their turbos blasting off toward the undefended targets.

Captain Steven Gilman of Black squadron smiled as the two younger squadron commanders fell for his ruse. At just the right moment, his entire squadron turned, hit their turbos, and fell in mass upon a surprised and unprepared Blue squadron.

Blue squadron was taken by surprise as viper after viper showed destroyed on the screens. The vipers were equipped with a training targeting system that evaluated an attack and estimated the damage that would have been done to a viper. It allowed the attacker to fire his guns and launch missiles all by simulation. In less then four minutes Blue squadron had been decimated to the point that they were hopelessly outnumbered. Red squadron after destroying only two of the twelve drones responded to Captain Strom's frantic pleas for help.

When Captain Dupree arrived, only four of Blue squadron's vipers still registered as combat capable. Captains Strom's own viper showed as destroyed on the screen. Captain Dupree divided her squadron up into five groups of four and hit Black squadron. For several long minutes the vipers dodged, turned, and wove an intricate combat pattern throughout space.

Sarah nodded approvingly to herself at the tactic that Captain Dupree was using. She was allowing four of her vipers to act as a unit to overwhelm some of the Black squadron vipers that were still acting in pairs. When Captain Gilman realized what Red squadron was up to, he regrouped his wing and renewed his attack upon the younger pilots. When it was all over, Blue squadron had been totally destroyed and Red squadron had suffered fourteen destroyed vipers. Black squadron had lost eight of its twenty vipers.

Looks like Red and Blue squadron are buying drinks again," Captain Geller said over the com."

"Yes, but this time six vipers of Red squadron survived and they managed to take out nearly half of Black squadron," Sarah replied with some satisfaction. While not as good as she had hoped, it was significantly better. "They're learning. I think it's time we divided the experienced pilots of Black squadron between all three squadrons to even things up. We may be going into combat soon and I want all three squadrons as ready as possible. Set up the CAP patrols for Red and Blue squadrons. Then meet me in briefing room two in two hours along with the squadron leaders so we can decide the best way to split up our experienced pilots."

Commander David Wells stood in the CIC of the Warstar Olympia. The Olympia had been almost completely rebuilt at the Boneyards and the ship looked like she had just come off the manufacturing line as a brand new ship. The Olympia was nearly 1,200 meters in length and very powerfully armed. However, what made the Olympia and her sister ship the Athena, which was under the command of Commander Daniel Stokes formerly of the Gunstar Hestia, special, was that each was equipped with a medium sized Mega Pulse laser. Professor Ravashol had been hard at work modifying his mega pulse laser for the Warstars. The lasers were capable of doing four times the damage as a heavy KEW round. There were also two smaller twin mega pulse laser turrets each capable of hitting a target with the force of a heavy kinetic round. The good thing about the mega pulse lasers on the Warstars was that they had double the affective range of the heavy kinetic rail guns. It had required the installation of another secondary energizer in both ships, which had reduced the amount of ammunition each could carry, but the trade off in firepower was worth it. There might still be some slight power problems when all were firing, but that would have to wait to be tested in actual combat.

As David looked over the crew of the CIC, he felt very pleased with how things had worked out. He had transferred a few of his officers over from the Triffid to the Olympia to round out the crew in the CIC. He had spent the last hour watching the Dradis screen, which he had focused on Sarah's training exercise. They were supposed to meet for the evening meal aboard the Aurora later on that evening. They had managed to spend a lot of time together the last few months; David knew that if their parents were still alive they would be very proud of Sarah and what she had accomplished. He knew that he was!

**DAY 240**

**DEEP SHELTER BASE **

**CAPRICA**

Colonel Adams was in General Ashton's office reviewing the plans for the resupply operation. Over the past several months, they had gathered together a lot of civilians to be potentially transferred to Admiral Clements. They also now had 25,000 civilian and military personnel living in the massive base itself.

"We have gathered the civilians to be transferred to Admiral Clements in these locations marked in green," Major Rice reported gesturing at a large map that designated two of the six world parks they currently had under their control. On the map, literally hundreds of green dots were displayed. "They are staying in small scattered groups close to the evac points in case the Cylons manage to break through our defenses."

Switching to another map which was covered in what seemed like thousands of red dots. "These are the civilians that need to be transferred to the other parks, how we are going to do all this is beyond me. It will take a huge fleet of shuttles to move all the people that need to be moved," Major Rice said worriedly. "I just don't see how we are going to have the time!"

"Just how big is the fleet that Admiral Clements is bringing?" Colonel Edwards asked looking questioningly at Colonel Adams. For weeks, he had been trying to get Colonel Adams to at least give them some ballpark estimate of what size force Admiral Clements had at his disposal.

Colonel Adams smiled before replying. "I don't know Colonel. It depends on what they can do with the other civilians that are currently living on the ships. You will know when I know."

Colonel Edwards looked back at the map at the green evac points, there were nearly 550,000 people waiting expectantly and hopefully for rescue. Most of them were young couples with children, specialists of some type, teachers, and people with useful knowledge, single parents, and even children who had lost everyone in the opening round of the war. Colonel Edwards wondered how many of these Admiral Clements could actually take.

He knew that plans had been made that if they all couldn't be transferred to the fleet, they would be moved to the four world parks they planned on keeping under their control. He understood why the elderly, sick, and people with few useful skills had low priority. They were fighting a war and the younger generation would have to bear the burden. The rest should be safe enough in the parks particularly if Clements made good on his promise to furnish an additional 20,000 marines. Even though he couldn't imagine where Clements could get that many marines from.

"I don't know what he will be bringing," Colonel Adams continued carefully. He didn't dare reveal too much about the Admiral's capabilities least it get out of the base and back to the Cylons. "All I can say is that the Admiral has a sizable fleet of military and civilian vessels at his disposal, but how many of them he actually can use for this operation I don't know. The actual composition of the fleet is classified and I haven't even shared that information with General Ashton."

Colonel Edwards and Major Rice shook their heads, slightly aggravated for the continued need for secrecy. It made it very difficult to plan this operation with the limited information they had.

"Admiral Clements will do what has to be done," General Ashton stated. Colonel Adams had briefed the General very thoroughly, on just what he thought the Admiral might do without going into to much detail about the fleet assets Admiral Clements had at his disposal. General Ashton also understood the need for secrecy even from his two chief officers. "We just need to make sure we do our part. The actual day and time of the resupply operation is scheduled for sometime within the next two weeks, the exact day is known only to Admiral Clements for security purposes. As you know, we are including the Cylon's orbital fleet disposition in our daily subspace messages to the Admiral."

On the perimeter of Crystal Falls Park, Lieutenant Susan James and Captain Aaron Sims were flying their raptor on routine perimeter patrol. They were extremely cautious for the Cylons had managed to shoot down 8 of their 28 raptors and 22 of the 40 Archangel Bombers they had started out with. The Archangel Bombers had caused heavy damage to the Cylon lines in their initial attacks. They had caused the Cylons to halt their advance and bring up sufficient interceptor missile batteries to handle the dangerous Colonial bombers. Even so, the bombers continued to hit the Cylon lines wiping out hundreds of Centurions and numerous weapons emplacements.

The current Cylon lines were still a considerable distance outside the parks perimeters, but the Cylons were steadily massing more troops daily. It was only a matter of time before they launched a major offensive. Right now, the biggest danger was the occasional Centurion probe or attack into the parks scouting out the Colonial defenses. There had been some heavy fighting between the marines and the Centurions whenever the two managed to meet up. Susan knew that in several instances the marines had suffered some very heavy casualties; entire squads wiped out to the last man. But so far all the Centurion attacks had been driven back and the parks for the most part were still secure.

"Aaron," Susan began feeling a little bit nervous about what she was about to ask. She had been thinking about this for days.

"What is it Lieutenant," Captain Sims replied looking over at Susan. He knew that when Susan used his first name that she was about to ask for something that would probably get him into trouble.

"When the rescue operation is launched there will be a lot of confusion. The Cylons are bound to be knocked off balance for a while. I want us to take our raptor to my parent's lodge and see if they are still there!" Susan spoke blurting out her thoughts. "Their hunting lodge is high up in the mountains and the Cylons may never have found them. They could still be alive, even have other survivors with them!"

Captain Sims paused a moment before answering, he knew that the fate of Susan's parents had been on her mind a lot recently. Especially after so much time had passed since the original Cylon attack upon the Colonies.

"Susan your parent's hunting lodge is clear on the other side of the planet," Aaron replied looking into her eyes. "We would have to fly over a lot of Cylon controlled territory just to get there. I just don't know if we could do it!"

"We have to try Aaron," Susan pleaded her eyes growing moist. Not knowing what had happened to her parents had been haunting her for months now. "This may be our only chance!"

Aaron paused for a moment. He knew that if the resupply operation went off as planned there would be a lot of confusion across the planet. If a rescue operation of Susan's parents was to be under taken, that would be the ideal time. "I will run it past Major Rice," Aaron replied cautiously. "But Susan I can't promise you what he will say, but I will ask."

"Thank you Aaron," Susan answered back feeling relieved. She knew that if anyone could talk Major Rice into approving the rescue mission it would be Aaron.

**DAY 243**

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR **

**CAPRICA ORBIT **

The human Cylons were gathered in their Command Center reviewing recent developments. Most were not happy with John moving the Hub so far away from Cylon and the Colonies. The Hub was already at the extreme limit that would allow the resurrection ships to function even with the subspace relays that had been put in place. If even one of them failed, the resurrection process would cease to function for those human Cylons in the Colonies.

"If John moves the Hub any further we won't be able to download if our bodies are killed," Simon spoke with his hands still in the information stream. "Even now resurrections may be slowed down or meet failure. Our latest figures show a possible resurrection failure rate of fourteen percent."

"John said he wouldn't move it any further," James replied irritated at the constant complaints about the Hub from the others. But even he had to admit to himself that he was not sure what his brother John would do. He had also heard from the Ones on the Colony that John was considering moving the Colony itself closer to his current position. James knew that would cause problems with some of the other models, particularly the Sixes and Eights.

"He has already lost two Basestars and one of his Resurrection ships," the blonde Six stated worriedly. "The Pegasus and the Galactica have joined forces and that could be a problem especially if they make it to Earth."

"It could," the Eight replied nodding her head thoughtfully. "But John still has overwhelming forces at his disposal. He won't be caught with his guard down again."

"We need to worry about our own problems and not John's," Doral interjected frowning. "We must eliminate the two Planetary Defense Satellites and take out the human military force that is still in operation upon Caprica. They could be a real danger to us. They are preventing us from completing our operations upon the planet! They are protecting millions of surviving humans!"

"Nothing to worry about," James replied his eyes turning toward Doral. "Our raiders have been continuously firing missiles and rail gun rounds at the satellites. We estimate that they are down to fewer than 20 percent in their remaining defensive weapons. We have also managed to hit the satellites a number of times with tactical nukes reducing their defensive and offensive capability. In another two to three weeks we will be able to safely use our Basestars to take the satellites out without a lot of danger to our ships."

"Very well," Doral replied nodding.

"But keep in mind that in any kind of attack upon those two satellites, we will take a lot of losses," the blonde Six replied challengingly looking at James. "We might be able to reduce their defensive capability a lot and force the satellites to use up most of their defensive and interceptor missiles but they will still posses some very dangerous long range weapons. I am not so sure about the safety of our ships in an attack; we will loose a lot of raiders and possibly even a Basestar. With the current problems with constructing new shipyards around Cylon it could be years before we receive any new Basestars."

"But once the satellites are gone we can launch our ground offensive," Simon said looking around the group. "We have nearly 400,000 Centurions in position for the attack. It will only take us a matter of only a few days to overrun the human positions and eliminate them!"

"We estimate that there are nearly four million humans in the area that the satellites are protecting," the Eight replied thoughtfully. "We have allowed a lot of them to slip through our lines so we can have them all in one place. We know that many of them are armed and there may be a complete marine division in the parks. It will not be an easy battle even when we have destroyed the satellites."

"They will not be able to stand up to our Centurions," James replied confidently. "We will take casualties yes, but we will annihilate the surviving humans and then Caprica will be ours completely, plus we can always build more Centurions!"

The other Cylons nodded in agreement. It might prove difficult but the two satellites could be destroyed with acceptable losses and then the planet could be pacified. The plan for the planet could finally be completed!


	18. Chapter 18

**DAY 245**

Admiral Clements sat at his command console aboard the Commandstar Aurora on the outskirts of the Caprica system. On the Dradis screen over 200 contacts showed the current disposition of the fleet and the now heavily armed and armored former Supply Depot Indram. The Escortstars were already in the three star systems preparing to engage their jamming systems and to activate the jamming satellites that had been emplaced by the Defense Gunstars earlier.

Admiral Clements looked around the CIC where fleet personnel were going about their duties. You could sense the excitement in the air. For the first time since the Fall of the Colonies, they were going to hit the Cylons and hit them hard. They were about to go on the offensive! After today, the Cylons would be well aware that the Colonial fleet still existed and was still a powerful force to be reckoned with. Commander Cain was to his right busily setting up the CAP for the fleet.

Commander Cain was disappointed that the Aurora was only playing a backup role and would not actually engage the enemy unless absolutely necessary. Cain understood the importance of not letting the Cylons find out about the Aurora just yet, but he would really like to try the Aurora out in actual combat. The Aurora was the single most powerful weapon the Colonials had, it was also their trump card. Commander Cain knew that it had to be played at the right time.

To Admiral Clements left both his assistant fleet operators sat at their consoles waiting for instructions. Weeks of careful planning and preparation had gone into this complex operation. But even with as much planning and contingency plans as they had set up, something could still go wrong. Clements knew that the Cylon fleet was spread out very thinly at the moment. He intended to take advantage of that situation and extort it to the maximum; this was an opportunity they might not get again.

His com system was connected to Admirals Stockwell and Reynolds who would be conducting the actual attacks. The Aurora, two Jupiter Class Battlestars, six Firestars, and four Warstars would stay behind in reserve in case either of the attacking groups encountered a larger Cylon force then expected. As much as Admiral Clements hated the thought, he would scrub the mission before risking major fleet losses at this point. If either of the attacking forces encountered superior Cylon forces and could not safely disengage, they would summon the Aurora. With all long-range communication down from the jamming, a Gunstar or raptor would have to be dispatched to the Aurora's location to summon the backup force.

"Coming up on jamming initiation," Commander Cain reported as his tactical officer reported in.

An air of excited expectancy filled the CIC. This was the beginning of the operation. A light blinked on showing red on Admiral Clement's console signaling that the jamming was being detected and that long-range communication, including subspace communication was down.

"Admirals you have a go," Clements said into his mini com, his eyes on the Dradis screen, which showed BSG 9 and BSG 15. "Good luck and good hunting!"

Almost instantly, the two indicated battle groups vanished from the Dradis as they engaged their FTL jump drives. The supply ships and the other civilian and fleet ships needed for the rest of the operation remained behind under the protection of the Aurora. Now all they could do was wait.

**DEEP SHELTER BASE**

**CAPRICA**

In Deep Shelter Base, alarms began sounding in the CIC. Almost instantly General Ashton, Colonel Adams, and Major Rice arrived. Colonel Edwards had been on duty and was staring at the huge Dradis screen in surprise. "We have detected six Gunstars jumping into orbit around Caprica. They are attacking the Command Basestar and two of the Support Ships! They jumped in right on top of the Cylons!"

"Then it's begun," General Ashton spoke in his calm command voice. "Order all commands to go to Condition One."

"Six Gunstars," Major Rice commented looking confused. "Where are the Battlestars? Six Gunstars can't take out those Cylon ships!"

"Be patient," Colonel Adams replied, looking up at the Dradis. It looked like the Gunstars had jumped to within attack range of each of their targets. "This is just the opening round."

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR **

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

The human Cylons looked on in amazement and anger at what their information was telling them. There were currently three Cylon Basestars and four Support Ships in orbit above Caprica. The Support Ships had been in the process of landing more Centurions on Caprica for the upcoming ground offensive they had been planning against the remaining humans on the planet. Two of those vessels were currently under attack from human Gunstars as well as their own Command Basestar.

"Status report," James demanded his eyes lived with anger at the impudence of the humans to dare attack him here at Caprica. He felt the Basestar shudder from multiple missile and KEW strikes. He couldn't believe the sheer audacity of the Colonials to attack his force with just six Gunstars!

Heavy damage to the outer hull," the Eight replied with concern in her voice as she studied the information on the ships condition. Both of her hands were in the information stream where she was receiving continuous updates on the Basestar's systems. "The Gunstars jumped in close and launched their missiles before our raiders could intercept. We have been hit with four tactical nukes, which have created several large breeches in our outer hull! The Gunstars are attempting to fire their KEW rounds into the damaged areas."

"The Support Ships report that their launching bays are being targeted," Doral spoke as he looked over accusingly at James. "Our own defensive systems are now targeting on the Gunstars and we are beginning to return fire. They jumped in too close for our defenses to engage automatically. They were able to launch their first missile strike unhindered!"

"Numerous fires in secondary areas from multiple KEW strikes now being reported," the Eight continued with growing concern. "Our own launch bays are also being targeted!"

"What are they thinking, attacking us with Gunstars! Our Basestars will destroy them, Admiral Clements has made a serious mistake," James spoke angrily gazing accusingly at the other human Cylons. He had superior firepower and superior forces. "Why weren't our raiders in a position to defend us? Order our raider squadrons to engage the Gunstars and to intercept those fraking missiles they are hitting us with immediately! I want those Gunstars eliminated as soon as possible!"

In space, the six Gunstars slowly closed with their larger targets firing missile after missile into their opponents from almost point blank range. They were firing a combination of heavy explosives and an occasional tactical nuke. On the two Support Ships, huge explosions rocked the launching bays as nuclear missile fire and now KEW rounds continued to strike unimpeded. Bright flashes of nuclear fire lit up both Support Ships.

Numerous Cylon raiders began to swarm out of the surviving bays angling toward the Gunstars intending to stop the devastating missile attack. As soon as they were spotted, the Gunstars activated their flak fields and continued to fire determinedly on the Cylon Support Ships trying to disable their FTL drives.

The Gunstars Hestia and Demeter continued to pour fire into the Command Basestar relentlessly continuing to close with the massive ship. There orders were simple. Destroy or damage the ship's FTL drive so it could not escape. The entire success of Admiral Clements plan might very well depend on the two Gunstars ability to disable the Cylon Command Basestar.

Missile after missile and KEW round after KEW round were impacting on the same exact heavily armored spot on the Command Basestar. Each strike burrowing deeper and deeper into the ship. Explosions rocked the Basestar from the Gunstars savage attack. Tactical nukes were also being used blasting huge pieces of hull off the Cylon ship. The Cylon Command Basestar was much more heavily armored then regular Basestars and could take the punishment. Another Basestar would have been destroyed by the ferocity of the two Gunstar's attack.

Major Bryant on the Hestia winced as his ship was hit by another tactical nuke fired from a heavy raider once again rocking the Gunstar. More red damage lights blinked on at the damage control station. The officer in charge immediately dispatched additional repair teams to the affected areas. The Hestia's flak screens were virtually lit up with constantly exploding incoming missiles that were being intercepted.

"Heavy incoming fire," Lieutenant Evans warned as the ship was hit again and again. Luckily this time, they were only high explosive missiles and not nukes. "Defense capability has been reduced by 20 percent. We are so close to the Command Basestar our computers can't respond quickly enough to intercept all the incoming fire! We can't stay this close much longer and survive sir!"

"What about their FTL!" Major Bryant demanded as the Hestia seemed to shudder and the lights flickered. More lights turned red on the damage control board. He knew that the Basestar's FTL had to be disabled, even if it meant the sacrifice of both of the attacking Gunstars. This was the Command Basestar; its destruction was paramount to the success of the entire operation.

"We got it sir," Lieutenant Evans reported elated looking at his scanners and readouts. "It will take the Cylons hours to repair it."

"Then let's jump the frak out of here," Major Bryant ordered as he felt the Hestia literally keel over on her side from a tactical nuclear missile strike as more damage alarms and sirens begin to sound indicating serious damage to the ship. He knew that the Hestia couldn't take much more of this.

It was at that moment that four Cylon tactical nuclear missiles slammed into the Gunstar Demeter a scant two kilometers off the Hestia's port side. One missile penetrated to the primary energizer and Tylium storage bunkers. A huge explosion rocked the ship tearing a huge hole in her side, then a massive blast destroyed the Demeter as the Tylium bunkers detonated. A glowing cloud of gas and debris was all that was left of the valiant Colonial Gunstar.

The Demeter is gone sir," Lieutenant Evans reported stunned. "A missile must have hit her Tylium bunkers! There is nothing left of her!"

"Initiate jump," Major Bryant said through clenched teeth. A moment later, the Hestia jumped away to safety.

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

"The remaining human Gunstar has jumped away," the blonde Six reported. "We destroyed the other, but it will take several hours before we can repair our FTL drive. The drive itself is intact but the power conduits have been severed. We also suffered a lot of heavy damage throughout the ship. Many sections are without power. All but one of our landing bays have been either destroyed or heavily damaged. The hybrid is having a hard time keeping just the life support functioning in the affected areas!"

"The other Gunstars are jumping away also," Doral reported as he studied his scans of the attack. "The Support Ships managed to launch enough raiders to drive them off. Both the two Support Ships that they were attacking are reporting heavy damage and they are incapable of jumping. I doubt whether either ship will be salvageable. I would recommend assigning their remaining squadrons to the other Support Ships."

"Order all of our ships to launch everything they have now!" James snapped realizing that this couldn't be the end of the attack. "The humans wouldn't have attacked with their Gunstars without planning a follow up. I want ever raider and heavy raider we have armed and ready to repel an attack. Order all the raiders and heavy raiders we have down on the planet to launch immediately. Send a subspace message to our ships at the rest of the Colonies to jump to Caprica. This may be our chance to destroy the remaining human fleet and Admiral Clements!"

"We are picking up jamming throughout the system. All communication is down," Simon reported with a puzzled look on his face. "We can't contact the other Basestars or Support Ships. Do you really thing that Admiral Clements will come here?"

"Why else would he risk his Gunstars, what would the purpose of this attack? Take my word for it, Admiral Clements is coming, we must destroy him!" James reiterated frowning not understanding why the others didn't realize the obvious.

"Surely the humans realize that to attack us here is suicide. We have enough forces to wipe out any major attack!" Doral spoke confidently looking over at James. "Clements has to know that."

"Are you sure of that!" James grated turning to glower at Doral. "Do you actually think the humans would launch an attack against us here unless they believed they had a chance of success? No, I don't like the way this is shaping up, there is something here we don't understand and I am not going to take a chance. Launch our heavy raiders, send them for help!" James ordered as he studied the Basestars scanners and screens.

**DEEP SHELTER BASE**

**CAPRICA**

In Deep Shelter Base, the Command Staff watched as the Gunstars vanished from the screens.

"One of the Gunstars attacking the Cylon Command Basestar was destroyed," Captain Silkwood reported worriedly as he read the data from his screens. "The Cylons are launching raiders from all their ships and they are taking up defensive positions around the planet. We also have reports of raider squadrons rising up from their planetary bases."

"Then the attack failed," Major Rice said in shock and disappointment, then turning toward Colonel Adams. "What chance did the Admiral have with just six Gunstars, where is this fleet you said he would use!"

Colonel Adams only pointed to the screen as the Dradis picked up additional Colonial contacts jumping into orbit around Caprica.

"Sir, we have two Mercury Class Battlestars, one Jupiter Class Battlestar, and six Columbia Two Class Battlestars that have just jumped into orbit." Captain Silkwood reported stunned looking over at the General. "That's nine Battlestars!"

"Any more questions about the fleet?" Colonel Adams asked looking piercingly at Major Rice."

Major Rice only shook his head as he looked in amazement back at the Dradis screen.

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

Aboard the Cylon Command Basestar James could not believe what he was hearing. "They have how many Battlestars?" he spoke loudly in disbelief glaring at the blonde Six that had just reported the new contacts.

"We have nine Battlestars currently closing on our position," the blonde Six replied as she rechecked the Dradis. "They are in the process of launching vipers and are beginning to engage our raiders! Scanners show two Mercury Class, one Jupiter Class, and six Columbia Two Class Battlestars."

"Order our other ships to close on our position, we must hold out until reinforcements arrive or we can repair our FTL drive," James roared with anger spreading across his face. "Have the squadrons from the surface form up around our Basestars. They are not to allow any missiles or vipers to get close to us! Where the frak did Clements get nine Battlestars!"

The blonde Six looked over at James shaking her head not sure how to reply. "We can't take on nine human Battlestars, two of our Support Ships are damaged, our Basestar is crippled, they will destroy us!"

"Then we will just resurrect and return with even more ships," James responded angrily glaring at the blonde Six. He had never liked the Sixes anyway. This Six in particular had been a pain for quite some time now. She was constantly challenging his decisions. If he could, he would arrange to have her boxed at the first opportunity.

"Resurrection takes two days," Simon spoke reminding James of the amount of time the resurrection process took. "That will leave the humans in control of Caprica for two days while we resurrect!"

The human Cylons looked at the Dradis and view screens, which showed the human Battlestars closing on their position.

"Fraking Clements," James muttered staring with hate at a view screen, which showed an approaching Mercury Class Battlestar. He could see the name Picon on one of its landing bays. Admiral Stockwell and BSG 9!

**BATTLESTAR PICON AND REINFORCED BSG 9**

**ADMIRAL STOCKWELL**

Admiral Stockwell watched his Dradis screen as the Cylon ships tried to move closer together for mutual support. Several large waves of raiders were inbound toward his Battlestars. But this was not like the original attack upon the Colonies; his Battlestars were fully operational and carried full complements of vipers immune to the Cylon virus that had originally paralyzed the fleet in the original attack. The three Cylon Basestars had maneuvered close together as well as two of the Support Ships; the two they had damaged earlier were moving slower and had not yet reached the other Cylon ships.

"Battlestars Altair and Spica take out those two Support Ships that our Gunstars damaged," Admiral Stockwell ordered as he measured the combat situation. "All other Battlestars close with the Cylon Command Basestar and the two Basestars covering her. Vipers are to give us covering fire and concentrate on the incoming raiders; we will take care of the larger ships!"

Aboard the Picon Major Sarah Wells felt the adrenaline rush as her Command viper race down the launching tube and out into space. All three of her Dagger squadrons had been divided up between the two Mercury class Battlestars. She had manage to talk Admiral Clements into allowing her squadrons to take part in this attack so as to give them some much needed combat experience.

In moments, she had all three of her squadrons formed up and they were outbound toward the incoming wall of raiders. She glanced out of her cockpit and saw the blue, white, and green of Caprica. The planet looked so peaceful; you would never know it was covered with Cylons!

"All right people, this is for real," Sarah said over the squadron's com system focusing her attention on the upcoming battle. Caprica would have to wait a little while longer. "Keep close to your wingman and stay aware of what is going on around you. If you do as we trained, you will all come through this in one piece."

"I just want to frak some Cylon ass!" Lieutenant Boyl's voice came over the com.

"Let's take them Major," Lieutenant Everett added, her female voice full of excitement.

Other enthusiastic voices joined in over the com system.

"All right people," Sarah replied with a satisfied smile. "Let's go kick some Cylon ass!"

With that last comment, her squadrons tore into the heart of the Cylon attack wave followed by the other squadrons from the other ships. In moments, a massive dogfight was underway. It was all that Sarah and Mathew could do to coordinate and adjust their three squadron's deployment. There was one fraking lot of Cylon raiders all around them.

A Cylon raider fell into Sarah's sights and without a moments hesitation, she fired one of her missiles from under her right wing, which slammed into the Cylon raider blowing it out of space in a bright flaming fireball. Next to her, Mathew blasted another raider out of space with a short burst of his viper's twenty-millimeter guns.

"I got one, I got one," an excited Lieutenant Boyl's voice came over the com.

"Yea but what about the one coming in behind you that's about to nail your ass! His wingman Lieutenant Everett said warningly. A moment later, a missile slammed into the Cylon raider from Lieutenant Everett's viper. "You owe me for that one," she said smugly over the com channel.

Aboard the Picon Admiral Stockwell watched the battle on the Dradis and view screens around the CIC.

"We are in weapons range of the Command Basestar," his exec reported.

"Very well engage our weapons and let's take that fraking Command Ship out!" Admiral Stockwell ordered. Then over the mini com, which connected him to the other ship commanders, "Battlestar Cimitar will join in the attack of the Command Basestar, Battlestar Canopus and remaining Columbias take out the other two Basestars."

In moments, numerous missiles and heavy KEW rounds began to permeate space between the two opposing forces. Admiral Stockwell grimaced as he felt the Picon shudder from a tactical nuke that managed to get through the Battlestar's defenses. Space became lit up with exploding ordinance.

Heavy damage to frames twelve through eighteen," the damage control officer reported. "Casualties also being reported, repair teams en route."

On the view screen, the Admiral could see their own weapons beginning to hit the Cylon Command Basestar. Small and large explosions dotted the surface of the massive ship as the rounds and missiles struck. "Bring us around eight degrees and continue to hit them," he ordered as he lined up the heavy KEW batteries on the bow of the Picon.

Out in space Sarah saw a group of eight heavy raiders break through their defensive wall and start to make an attack run on the Picon.

"Black Dagger squadron with me," she ordered as she swung her viper around and hit her turbos. "We have eight heavy hostiles inbound on the Picon, have your missile interceptors ready to fire. I don't want a single fraking Cylon missile to hit that Battlestar!"

In moments, her squadron reached the eight Cylon heavy raiders and quickly they became engaged in a ruthless dogfight. Sarah winced as she saw one of her Black Dagger squadron vipers vanish from the screen as a Cylon missile found its mark.

"They just got Anders," Lieutenant Everett spoke angrily over the com.

"Stay on your toes everyone," Sarah stressed. "This isn't a game out here, if you screw up the Cylons will have your ass!"

At that moment, multiple missile warnings began to sound as the Cylon heavy raiders launched their missiles at the Picon.

"Get those missiles!" Sarah screamed over the com.

Sarah hit her turbos followed by Mathew and the other vipers from the Black Dagger squadron. She switched her Dradis screen to track the Cylon missiles, which were rapidly closing with the Battlestar. A loud steady tone sounded indicating she had a missile lock. Pressing the button under her hand both the interceptor missiles her viper was equipped with launched. A scant moment later the inbound Cylon missile vanished from her screen as her missiles caught up with and then detonated destroying the missile.

Other interceptor missiles launched from Black Dagger squadron were now catching the Cylon missiles and wiping them off the Dradis. Mathew took out the last one just scant moments before it would have reached the Picon's flak screen. The squadron then turned and fell upon the surviving Cylon heavy raiders that had launched the missile attack, blowing them out of space one by one.

"Now that's what I call flying," Admiral Stockwell's Exec commented as they watched the last missile explode a scant 2,000 meters from the Picon's hull.

The Picon continued its advance on the Cylon Command Basestar as she swung around slightly and heavy KEW rounds were fired directly at the midpoint of the Cylon ship. Next to her, the Cimitar duplicated her maneuver and a huge explosion resonated on the Cylon ship as her inner hull was finally penetrated. The combined firepower of a Mercury Class Battlestar and a Jupiter Class Battlestar was overwhelming.

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

We are losing power," the blonde Six reported with concern. Fires were raging out of control and many areas were out of contact with the Cylon Command Center.

"Have you identified that other Mercury Class Battlestar," James demanded as the Basestar shuddered violently and sparks cascaded down one wall as equipment shorted out. Several screens went dark and smoke began to fill the Command Center.

"It's the Battlestar Canopus," the Eight reported as she studied her scans.

"The Canopus," Simon retorted shocked looking over at the Eight. "She was reported as destroyed in the initial attack!"

"Evidently not," James replied scathingly shaking his head in frustration. "Obviously our early reports were wrong about the majority of the Colonial Battlestars being destroyed!"

The Basestar shuddered and seemed to keel over as another massive explosion rocked her. Huge pieces of the superstructure begin to break off as more heavy KEW rounds and nuclear missiles continued to impact.

"Admiral Stockwell and BSG 9," James replied loathingly as the lights in the Command Center began to flicker. "They picked up the Canopus somewhere and these Columbia Two Battlestars had to have come from the Boneyards. Why the frak didn't we hit the Boneyards in our earlier attacks. Who knows what Admiral Clements took from there!"

He looked at the other human Cylons letting his anger flow. "Our human attackers out there are going to win this round! When we are finished downloading we will return with a fleet big enough to deal with these Colonials!"

"Then our Basestar is going to be destroyed!" the blonde Six replied nervous about going through resurrection, something she had never experienced.

"What do you think," James replied sardonically as the lights went out completely. The Command Center was rocked by explosions throwing the Cylons to the floor as data screens and consoles went up in flames.

**BATTLESTAR PICON**

**ADMIRAL STOCKWELL**

It was at that moment that the Picon placed a carefully targeted nuclear tipped missile into a massive hull breach they had inflicted upon the Command Basestar. With a resounding flash of a nuclear explosion, the Command Basestar broke apart. Cascading explosions raced across the two sections as the two Battlestars poured on the firepower. In less then a minute all that was left of the Cylon Command Battlestar was a shattered cloud of expanding gas and debris.

"That was for Admiral Nagala," Admiral Stockwell said quietly as he watched the expanding cloud of debris. "Bring us around and let's hit the next Basestar."

As they closed with the other Cylon ships, they began to vanish from the Dradis. Both the two remaining Cylon Basestars and two of the Support Ships jumped away.

"Cylons have jumped out sir," the tactical officer reported. "The Altair and Spica report they have destroyed both the Support Ships assigned to them but are currently under heavy raider attack."

"Very well, order all squadrons to concentrate on the raiders, let's finish this up," Admiral Stockwell ordered settling back.

**DEEP SHELTER BASE**

**CAPRICA**

In the CIC of Deep Shelter Base, General Ashton and his Command Staff looked at the Dradis screen in awe. For the first time in nearly three quarters of a year, there were no Cylon ships in orbit. The only ships left were nine Colonial Battlestars and hundreds of vipers blowing space free of Cylon raiders. The entire CIC suddenly broke out in screams of joy and excitement.

"Well General," Colonel Adams said with a satisfied and vindicated look upon his face. "It looks like we get to do the second part of this operation after all. Please order all commands to be prepared for orbiting shuttles and ships to be coming down to Caprica!" He reached over and pressed a series of buttons ordering the two PDSs to stand down. He didn't want them to accidentally fire upon the arriving Colonial ships. The PDSs shouldn't normally but they had not been touched by a full Colonial repair crew in quite some time, who knew how their command systems might react. The small crew they had on board each PDS couldn't keep up with all the needed repairs. Better to be safe then to be sorry later.

"Do it," General Ashton ordered turning to Colonel Edwards and Major Rice. He then spoke the words he thought he would never utter again. "Prepare our people for the arrival of the Colonial fleet!"

**KOBOLAN BATTLECRUISER RESURGENT**

**ONE MILLION KILOMETERS FROM CAPRICA**

Admiral Murray looked on in shock at the information pouring across the ship's computer screens. He was the only Colonial officer aboard the Kobolan Battlecruiser Resurgent. The ship was currently operating in full stealth mode and had been in the Caprica system for nearly a month.

"There are nine Colonial Battlestars out there!" he said in stunned surprise looking at Captain Lattimer. "The Picon is Admiral Stockwell's command ship. If BSG 9 survived then you can bet your ass Admiral Clements did to. We must contact those ships immediately!"

"I'm sorry Admiral," Captain Lattimer replied shaking his head. "We have strict orders from Terran Command not to contact anyone. We dare not reveal ourselves. We can't risk the Cylons finding out about Terra and Demeter, at least not yet."

"But those Battlestars are Colonial, I know Admiral Stockwell personally," Admiral Murray replied his voice rising slightly, his eyes almost pleading. "Surely a short subspace message from me to Admiral Stockwell wouldn't endanger anything."

"I assure you Admiral I would like nothing better then to reveal ourselves to your fellow Colonials," Commander Lattimer replied feeling extremely uncomfortable about refusing the Admiral's request. He could guess very well what the Admiral was feeling right now and he couldn't blame him. "We knew that there were survivors on Caprica from the defensive fire being put up by the two Defense Satellites. Now it seems that Admiral Clements did indeed survive and implemented Admiral Corman's final orders. We don't know for sure what forces Admiral Clements has at his disposal!"

"I know our orders," Admiral Murray replied staring at a view screen, which showed one of the Mercury Class Battlestars now in orbit around Caprica. "We just didn't expect something like this."

"I would suggest that we continue to observe," Captain Lattimer continued. "The Cylons are bound to respond. Once we see how this plays out, we will return to the subspace communication buoy that we put in place, contact Command, and make our report. We will let them decide on our next move."

"Very well," Admiral Murray replied looking at Captain Lattimer then back at the view screen, which showed the Battlestar Picon floating above Caprica. He just wished he could speak to Admiral Stockwell and let them know they were not alone.

On their way back to the Colonies from Demeter, they had laid a string of Kobolan subspace communication buoys to allow communication with Demeter or Terra. It was just so hard for Admiral Murray to standby and just watch when they now knew that a Colonial military force had survived and was actively attacking the Cylons.

"I am sure that Admiral Stone will be highly interested in all of this," Admiral Murray commented as he continued to watch the screen. This might change a lot of their plans. Admiral Stone had always planned to come back to the Colonies someday, but no one had expected to find what Admiral Murray had just watched. The Colonial fleet still survived and was fighting the Cylons! Admiral Stone might have to speed up his plans and speed them up considerably! If things worked out, perhaps very soon the Colonies would find out that they were not alone. There were other human worlds still out there.

\

_Terra, Demeter, Admiral Murray, and Admiral Stone all come from Gunstar Titania, which is the first story in this series._

_For those of you that are interested, I will be listing the number of survivors that Admiral Clements has under his protection as well as the exact number of warships and type that he has at his disposal in an upcoming chapter._

_There will also be a list of survivors currently on Demeter as well as the forces available to Admiral Stone._

_There will also be a list of current Kobolan fleet strength._

_I am only putting up one chapter this week because the next chapter will be quite long. I may split it into two separate chapters. _

_There are some situations I would have liked to have covered in this story in more detail but I don't want to drag this out. I don't want this story to go on and on and on like it's never going to end. It has a beginning and an ending and we are two thirds of the way there. I am making some minor changes here and there due to some of the reviews I have received. Keep in mind that the entire story is completed. _

_I really appreciate all the reviews!_


	19. Chapter 19

**RAGNAR ANCHORAGE**

Without warning, six Defender Class Gunstars jumped into orbit around Ragnar Anchorage. All six of the 800-meter ships were within firing range of their intended targets. A Basestar and two Support Ships hovered like birds of prey above the narrow entrance in the gas cloud to prevent the entrance of any Colonial ship to the massive Anchorage hidden inside.

A thick gas cloud surrounded the gas giant above which Ragnar Anchorage orbited in the eye of a huge storm. The storm was created by severe atmospheric disturbances, which caused such a great turbulence in the atmosphere that it had even affected the large cloud of gas that surrounded the planet. Above the storm was a narrow corridor, or the eye of the storm like a hurricane, which was the only clear spot. In this protected eye, the massive Anchorage orbited held in place by gravity and a small drive system that kept the Anchorage continuously in the same position of safety within the storm.

The Cylons had been keeping their ships at the Anchorage entrance to destroy any surviving Colonial ships that might try to return to the Anchorage for supplies and to rearm.

As the systems on the Gunstars began to stabilize each began launching its vipers as rapidly as possible. Each Defender Class Gunstar carried twelve vipers. As the vipers were being launched, the two bow missile tubes and the ship's heavy bow KEW batteries came back on line and were swiftly targeted on the Cylon ships. The Cylons at Ragnar had been on guard against possible surviving Colonial warships and four full squadrons of raiders and one squadron of heavy raiders were constantly at the ready to respond to any Colonial warship that might jump in. These squadrons were already closing on the six Gunstars.

In the CIC of the Gunstar Triffid, warning alarms were sounding as inbound heavy raiders began to launch missiles.

"Frak," Major Lewis the new commander of the Gunstar Triffid uttered worriedly, seeing the inbound raider squadrons on his Dradis screens. "Get our point defense up, those raider's missiles will be hitting us any second! Inform the Hydra to be prepared for raiders and to begin the attack on the Basestar immediately!" The Hydra was the Triffid's sister ship. "Order all vipers to engage the Cylon raiders and not to attack the Basestar or Support Ships as originally planned. They have to keep those raiders off our backs until we have executed our attack run! We weren't expecting this many raiders to be deployed!"

On the Dradis screen, the vipers and raiders became intermixed as they engaged each other in a heavy dogfight. Missiles and cannons erupted between the two as they tried to take the other out. The viper pilots knew how important it was to keep the Cylon raiders away from the Gunstars.

"We're too heavily outnumbered," the Exec reported grimy as several vipers vanished from the screen. "Our vipers are beginning to take losses."

Aboard the Basestar, defensive and offensive weapons came on line as they began to target the two attacking Gunstars. The Basestar had been sitting at condition two just in case a Colonial ship jumped to the station to rearm and resupply.

"That fraking Basestar is already firing on us!" the Exec reported as the Triffid's point defense weapons began to cycle automatically and fire.

Numerous missile tracks were appearing on the Dradis. Then a warning tone sounded indicating nuclear warheads had been detected on some of the inbound missiles. At the same time, the Gunstar launched its own nuclear tipped missiles at the Basestar and its KEW batteries cycled and began firing kinetic rounds from almost point blank range. The KEW rounds struck the Basestar, instantly smashing deep into the ship as they tore through the thin armor of the outer hull.

The Triffid shook and the lights went out as a tactical nuke penetrated the flak screen and struck the lower bow of the ship, washing that part of the ship in nuclear fire. The lights slowly came back on, dimly at first, and then back to full.

"Moderate damage to decks four through eight and frames seven through fourteen," the damage control officer reported.

"Our KEW rounds are hitting the Basestar causing moderate damage," the tactical officer reported. "But the Basestars defenses are active and between their defenses and the raiders, they are intercepting our missiles. We can't launch them quickly enough to get through the Basestar's defenses!

"Take us in closer then," Major Lewis ordered as the Triffid shuddered again from a missile strike. That one must have been a conventional warhead because very little damage was indicted. The Basestar already covered the main view screen. "We must at least damage the Basestar's FTL drive, we can't let it escape!"

"Support Ships and the Basestar are all launching more raiders, they must have had some additional squadrons on standby," the Exec pointed out as the Dradis erupted with more red blips coming from the Cylon ships. This entire attack was about to fall apart. They had not expected to encounter this many raiders this early.

"Hydra reports multiple missile hits," the com officer reported as she monitored communication between the six Gunstars as they engaged the Cylons. "They have fires out of control and have lost most of their point defense capability. They have hull breaches throughout the ship and have taken heavy casualties!"

"Order her to jump out of here!" Major Lewis ordered worriedly, he didn't want to lose the Hydra and with most of her weapons offline, she was useless in the attack now anyway. "With her point defense down she will be a sitting duck for the Cylons!"

"Her FTL is down," the com officer reported shaking her head worriedly. "They are continuing the attack; one of their bow KEW batteries and one missile tube is still operational!"

The Two Gunstars continued to close in on the Cylon Basestar. Missiles and kinetic rounds covered the space between the three. Due to the closeness of the ships, very few KEW rounds were missing their target. All the rounds and missiles from the two Gunstars were aimed at one spot in the center of the Cylon ship, and that was her FTL Drive. Cylon raiders and the Basestar's limited point defense were still knocking down all the missiles the two Gunstars could fire.

The viper pilots watched in helplessness as massive explosions began to march across the Gunstar Hydra blowing huge gaping holes in her armor. Missile fire from the heavy raiders and the Basestar was blowing right past her meager point defense. With so many defensive batteries offline, there was very little the Colonial Gunstar could do. In a matter of a few moments, she was just a burning powerless wreck incapable of firing a single weapon at the Cylon Basestar. Her drives shut down and she began to drift helplessly out of control. The Cylon Basestar then turned all of her missiles on the Triffid; the raiders could finish off the remains of the now helpless Hydra.

"The Hydra is dead in space and burning!" the com officer reported listening to the vipers and reports from the other Gunstars.

Major Lewis felt almost calm as he felt the Triffid shudder and jump as she was hit by increased Cylon fire. Missiles began to penetrate her defenses and impact upon the hull. On the damage control board, red warning lights were coming on too fast to report. The ship was vibrating and shaking almost continuously from the strikes. Major Lewis had lost count of the tactical nukes his ship had taken.

"Our scans show major power fluctuations in the Cylons FTL power system," the exec reported watching his console closely. "Some of our KEW rounds have penetrated very deep into the ship. I don't believe she can jump. We must have damaged some of the FTL system power couplings."

"What about our own FTL system, can we recover our vipers and jump?" Major Lewis asked even though he already knew what the answer would be.

"Our FTL jump drive is down, the chief engineer estimates over two hours for repair," the Exec reported as he talked to the chief engineer over his mini com.

At that moment, a giant sledgehammer blow struck the Triffid and all the lights went out. Major Lewis was thrown against a bulkhead and everything went black as he lost consciousness.

The Mercury Class Battlestar Tauri and the Jupiter Class Battlestar Solaria jumped into the center of the battle followed quickly by the rest of the ships assigned to Admiral Reynolds. Admiral Reynolds was surprised and dismayed by all the Cylon raiders that were on the Dradis screen. "Order all ships to launch their viper squadrons; they are to engage the Cylon raiders while we handle the mother ships!" Admiral Reynolds was troubled to see just how few of the six Gunstar's vipers were still in action. The Cylons had been better prepared then they had expected. This had been his plan and he had screwed up. They should have jumped a raptor in first to confirm the number of squadrons the Cylons had deployed.

"What's the status of the Gunstars," he demanded as he scanned the screens around him.

"The Hydra is powerless and totally unresponsive," the Exec reported as he scanned the reports that were coming in. "The Triffid is heavily damaged and is suffering from rolling power failures due to major damage to her power grids. They may have to abandon ship. The other Gunstars have pulled back. They all report some degree of damage."

"Frak, this didn't go down as we had planned," Admiral Reynolds said aggravated, he should have jumped a Warstar in to handle the Basestar to begin with. The Defender Class Gunstars just weren't heavily armed enough as the Assault Gunstars were. "Order the Warstars Olympia and Athena to engage their targets. The Columbia Two Battlestars Medusa and Archimedes will provide viper support. Order the Solaria to stay with us, let's take out this fraking Basestar before anything else goes wrong!"

Commander David Wells watched his screens as the Warstar Olympia closed with its target. "Power up the Mega Pulse Laser," he ordered from his position at the operation's table.

David was anxious to see just what this new weapon would do. Mega Pulse Lasers had been used at the start of the first Cylon War on the original Battlestars. This new Pulse Weapon had been modified and refined considerably by Professor Ravashol.

"MPL is powered up and tracking target," the tactical officer reported.

They were still slightly out of range of the Support Ships few weapons, but the Support Ship was not out of range of the Olympia's MPL. The Warstar Olympia was an imposing sight as she turned her 1,100-meter length and began to close rapidly with her target. Even though she was almost the size of a Galactica Class Battlestar, she was still very responsive to her helm controls.

"Target is locked," the tactical officer reported as the Olympia brought her bow around to face the Cylon Support Ship.

"Fire," David said without a moment's hesitation.

In front of him, a large view screen showed a magnified view of the Cylon Support Ship that was their intended target. The lights in the CIC dimmed for a moment, and then a brilliant beam of reddish blue light leaped out from the bottom of the Olympia to strike the center of the Cylon ship. A massive fiery explosion rocked the Cylon vessel as the beam tore through her armor and hit her Tylium storage bunkers deep inside. A huge flaming red orange explosion lit up the surrounding space as the Cylon Support Ship exploded into a million pieces.

"Holy frak!" the Exec murmured in stunned amazement and awe staring at the screen. "Just one shot and we blew her to bits!"

"Turn us toward the Basestar and let's give the Admiral a hand," David ordered equally surprised with what the MPL had done. Professor Ravashol had been correct on the destructiveness of the new Pulse Laser. David knew that this weapon could have a major effect on the way the war was fought from now on.

They had fired it a few times in mock attacks against some small asteroids but this was the first time in actual combat. He wanted to try the MPL out against a more powerful target. The Cylon Basestar would have thicker armor and would be slightly more resistant to the beam. David wanted to see just how resistant.

"What was that," the Tauri's Exec exclaimed as the Dradis was briefly covered with static, then came back up showing the Support Ship that the Olympia had attacked was gone from the screen.

"The Olympia fired her MPL," the tactical officer reported with wide eyes staring unbelievably at the screen. "The Cylon Support Ship just exploded!"

"Sir the Cylon Basestar is trying to withdraw, she has pulled in her raiders to form a screen between us and them and is backing away," the Dradis officer spoke as he watched the Cylon ships.

"They didn't like what they saw the Olympia do to their Support Ship," the Exec commented. "She must be trying to buy time to repair her FTL drive."

"Continue to engage the raiders with our vipers, order the Solaria to stay just outside of heavy weapons range of the Basestar. Let's see what the Olympia's MPL can do against a Basestar," Admiral Reynolds ordered as his eyes focused on the main view screen. This was something he really wanted to see. He had been greatly surprised to hear how easily the Olympia had blasted the Cylon Support ship to pieces. "Order the Battlestar Medusa to continue to wipe up the raiders in her vicinity."

"Sir" the tactical officer interrupted. "The Athena reports the Support Ship she was targeting has also been destroyed. They are turning their attention to the Cylon raiders."

On the view screen, the Olympia rapidly closed with the Cylon Basestar. The Basestar was steadily drawing back with a heavy screen of raiders forming up between her and the Warstar. It was obvious the Cylon Basestar wanted nothing to do with the approaching Colonial warship.

"Order our vipers to clear a path for the Olympia," Admiral Reynolds commanded his eyes focused on the Dradis and view screens. With the extra thick armor that covered the Olympia, he doubted that the Cylon raiders could do her much damage anyway, but he didn't want to take the risk.

Two squadrons of vipers instantly charged into the raiders before the Olympia, blowing a gaping hole through their defensive line. As the Olympia charged through a few missiles impacted her hull causing little or no damage. The majority of the missiles were destroyed by the Olympia's massive point defense. Only one tactical nuke penetrated and it only left a slight scar on the Olympia's thick armor.

"MPL is charged," the tactical officer reported as they cleared the raiders and the Cylon Basestar began to grow larger on their screens. "MPL turret batteries are also charged and have locked on the Basestar.

The turret batteries while not nearly as powerful as the main MPL were still very powerful weapons. The Olympia was equipped with two twin bow batteries, which they were about to test.

"Stand by to fire," David ordered as he watched the screens intently.

This was a Basestar they were preparing to fire upon and not a lightly armored and lightly defended Support Ship. On the screen, the Basestar grew huge even though they were still a considerable distance away.

"Optimum firing range now," the tactical officer reported. "Target locked!"

"Fire!" David ordered watching the Basestar intently on the main view screen.

Once again, a brilliant reddish blue beam shot out from the Olympia striking the Cylon Basestar on one of its major spires. Instantly a huge explosion rocked the Basestar as the spire was torn completely away and then disintegrated as a series of smaller explosions tore it apart. The smaller MPL turrets began to fire and a series of explosions raced across the surface of the Basestar as the lasers cut through her armor causing secondary explosions inside her primary hull.

"Main MPL recharged," the tactical officer reported a few seconds later. It took the main MPL about 30 seconds to recharge between firings.

"Target the axis of the Basestar," David ordered as he brought the Olympia's bow around to align with the Basestar's midpoint.

Moments later the MPL fired again tearing into the Cylon ship penetrating to its heart. Another huge explosion lit up space as the Cylon ship broke apart, massive fires and explosions could be seen raging inside the two slowly disintegrating halves.

"Order the Olympia to stand down," Admiral Reynolds ordered with a satisfied smile at the results of the Olympia's attack. "Order the Solaria to move in and finish off what's left of the Basestar with her KEW batteries."

A few minutes later space was free of Cylon ships. The Warstar Athena reported that all the raiders in their vicinity had been eliminated. Admiral Reynolds noted that the same was true in their vicinity as well. Their viper squadrons had made short work of the raiders once their mother ships had been eliminated. A few heavy raiders had managed to jump away, but with the jamming that Admiral Reynolds knew was going on, it would be quite awhile before they could return with any more Cylon ships.

Turning to his Exec, Admiral Reynolds spoke. "Have the least damaged Gunstar jump to Admiral Clement's position and report that we have eliminated the Cylon ships. We are ready for the supply ships."

The plan called for them to go into the eye of the storm and strip the Anchorage of all its usable weapons and supplies. There were three major Fleet Anchorages in the Colonies and each was capable of fully supplying the entire Colonial fleet on a one time emergency basis with spare parts, weapons, and other basic supplies. Admiral Reynolds planned to completely strip everything useful out of Ragnar.

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

Admiral Clements waited nervously in the CIC of the Aurora. It was aggravating having the communications blackout, but it had been the only sure way of slowing or preventing Cylon reinforcements from responding quickly to their attacks upon Caprica and the Anchorage. He hoped what they were doing would confuse the Cylon High Command long enough to allow them to complete the operation.

"The Gunstar Hera has jumped in," the Dradis operator reported as a new friendly blip materialized upon the Dradis screen.

"She reports attack successful, Command Basestar destroyed as well as two Support Ships, the rest of the Cylon fleet jumped away," Commander Cain reported as he scanned the attack report that the Gunstar Hera was downloading to his console.

"What about our own losses?" Admiral Clements asked mentally preparing himself. There had been a lot of discussion about sending in the Warstars instead of the Gunstars. The Gunstars had won out due to the fact that that they could jump in closer to the Basestars and initiate the attack with a bigger element of surprise. He knew that there was no such thing as a cheap victory, there was always a price to pay.

"The Gunstar Demeter was hit and destroyed; the Gunstars Zeus and Mars were lightly damaged," Commander Cain responded as he read the report on his screen. "The Gunstar Demeter was destroyed in the attack upon the Command Basestar; she was hit by a heavy barrage of missiles and exploded. They believe either one of her magazines was hit or her Tylium storage bunkers. The Hera is also reporting that the Gunstar Hestia suffered moderate to heavy damage but is still operational. The Cylons hurt us, but one Gunstar for the price of their Command Basestar and two of their Support Ships is still a major victory sir!"

"Yes," Admiral Clements replied in a subdued tone thinking about the men and women who had just died.

He knew that on his orders, probably over 1,000 fleet personnel had lost their lives, and the report from Ragnar wasn't in yet. Before this was over the loss of life would go much higher. They were at war with the Cylons and this was the first of what would soon become a major all out attack.

Admiral Clements turned to Captain Reed at communications. "Order Major Stiles to jump the Indram to her new location above Caprica. He is to begin immediate repair operations on the two Defense Satellites."

"Yes sir," Captain Reed replied as she sent the order to Major Stiles aboard the Indram.

"Order General Abramson aboard the Assaultstar Gideon that he has a go for Caprica assault," Admiral Clements continued knowing that the 25,000 marines under General Abramson's command would probably take some very heavy casualties in the coming operation. Admiral Clements wanted to hit the Cylons as hard as he could. They had an opportunity here to hit them hard, and inflict major damage and casualties and he intended to do just that.

On the Dradis screen, two Assaultstars and ten Marine Assault Ships jumped away to Caprica.

"Sir the Gunstar Therms has just jumped in from Ragnar," the Dradis officer reported as another friendly blip appeared on the Dradis screen.

"The attack at Ragnar was a success," Commander Cain reported as he scanned the information coming across his console. "The Cylon Basestar and both Support Ships were destroyed. However, the Cylons had a lot of raiders deployed when the Gunstars jumped in. The Gunstar Hydra has been heavily damaged with most of her crew killed or missing, Admiral Reynolds does not believe that she is salvageable and will be scuttling her after the survivors have been removed. The Gunstar Triffid is also reported as being heavily damaged with heavy casualties but is salvageable."

Admiral Clements was quiet for a moment, more casualties he thought as he weighed his options. So far, there was no reason to call off or slow down the planned operation. "Order the supply ships to jump," the Admiral ordered finally. He knew that 10 large fleet supply vessels and 15 heavy civilian cargo vessels were waiting his order to proceed to Ragnar and begin stripping it of its valuable supplies. Moments latter the 25 ships vanished from the Dradis screen as they jumped to Ragnar and the waiting Admiral Reynolds.

Admiral Clements waited for nearly an hour before he gave his next order. "Have the resupply and refugee recovery fleets jump to Caprica." He knew that 26 fleet personnel vessels containing 20,000 reinforcing marines for the ground base along with their supplies and equipment waited on those ships. There were also 10 fleet supply vessels, 80 large civilian passenger liners, 2 Tylium tankers, and 10 heavy civilian cargo ships ready to jump.

A few moments later, all that was left on the screen was the Aurora, the Jupiter Class Battlestars Magellan and Odyssey, four Warstars, six Firestars, plus the two Gunstars that had reported in. Both of them would be very shortly returning to their respective commands. If the Cylons managed to return to Caprica with major reinforcements, he wanted to be in a position to hit them hard enough to force them to withdraw. Clements felt that the fleet he was holding back in reserve should be sufficient for that if it was needed. He hoped it wouldn't be.

**CAPRICA**

The Indram jumped into Caprica orbit slightly above the orbit of the two PDSs. Major Styles studied the Dradis intently for a few moments noting that Admiral Stockwell's fleet was off to one side of the Dradis away from the two Defense Satellites.

"Take us in to our new orbital position between the two Planetary Defense Satellites," Styles ordered. While the Indram was not equipped with a major space drive system, it did possess sufficient maneuvering thrusters to place the Indram where he wanted it. "Begin launching the satellite repair crews."

From the Indram's newly installed launching bays ten raptors exited slowly, and then five each turned and headed to the two satellites. Each raptor contained six trained technicians as well as several heavily armed marines. They would begin going over the satellites internal systems and repairing or replacing whatever was needed to bring the satellites back to 100 percent operational readiness. The Indram was now capable of launching and maintaining four full viper squadrons as well as one full raptor squadron.

"Release the new defense satellites and set them up for Planetary Defense Satellite station keeping," Major Styles ordered as he switched from the Dradis screen and looked at several view screens that showed the twelve two hundred meter satellites that were attached to the Indram's thickly armored hull.

Immediately the twelve satellites detached themselves and began using their maneuvering thrusters to position themselves around the Defense Satellites. While the repair operation on the satellites was in progress, six of the new smaller satellites would protect each satellite. Once all repairs were completed, they would be maneuvered into new orbits to help cover both the Defense Satellites and the Indram.

"Sir," the Dradis officer reported. "General Abramson is jumping in with his command." On the Dradis twelve new blips had appeared. The largest two, which were the Assaultstars Gideon and Chirion, immediately began making for the planet. At the same time, numerous launches were visible from the ten Marine Assault Ships as their Archangel Bombers and combat assault raptors were launched from their launch bays. They would be striking targets on the ground already designated from info received from Deep Shelter Base.

In Deep Shelter Base General Ashton watched the Dradis screen intently as the new ships arrived.

"What the frak are those two big ones, they are the size of Battlestars?" Major Rice asked perplexed. "They seem to be descending toward the planet. Doesn't the officer in command realize that he is putting his ships into range of the Cylon's surface batteries?"

General Ashton turned to Major Rice with a glint of extreme delight in his eyes. He could remember seeing ships such as these when he first joined the marines over thirty years before. "Those are Assaultstars Major," the General replied smiling. "The last was decommissioned over twenty years ago. Those ships were designed to attack a heavily defended planet and take out its surface installations. I can promise you that the Cylons are not going to be happy to see those two ships!"

"Sir," Captain Silkwood interrupted. "I have a General Abramson on the com for you."

"General Abramson," General Ashton replied thinking. If he remembered correctly, he was one of the top marine Generals assigned to the fleet.

General Ashton flipped on his com unit. "This is General Ashton, Deep Shelter Base Caprica," he said into the unit.'"

"General Ashton, it's good to finally hear your voice," General Abramson replied. "We are preparing for a major attack on the Cylon positions surrounding your defensive positions. Make sure that all your people are pulled back to their defensive perimeters. We will be launching major strikes shortly from orbit all along the Cylon lines as well as heavy bombardment of Cylon positions from the two Assaultstars. We will also be landing marines for mopping up operations."

"Is there anything we can do?" General Ashton asked.

"You have already done enough protecting all these civilians, just relax and watch the show for now," General Abramson responded. "Another fleet will arrive shortly and will be landing 20,000 reinforcing marines that I am transferring to your command. They will be completely supplied with Archangel Bombers, raptors, Nomad Assault Shuttles, and all the Landrams they need. I will be transmitting to you our operation plans, sorry we couldn't get with you more on the planning part, but we couldn't risk the Cylons intercepting our communications. We will be setting up twenty-four major bases in the four parks we plan on controlling. Six in each park. Each base will be fully self reliant and capable of defending its airspace as well as launching counter strikes against the Cylons. I am sending you a coded data stream with all the details. Colonel Adams has the decryption key."

"Twenty thousand more marines, with bombers, raptors, shuttles, and Landrams," Colonel Edwards repeated elated looking excitedly at the others. "With those and the orbital satellites we can hold back the Cylons indefinitely!"

General Abramson heard the comment over the com. "Not only that, we are also reinforcing the orbital Defensive Satellites. The Supply Depot Indram has been rebuilt into a powerful new defense satellite. She has already moved into position directly above your base. She has also deployed twelve new smaller defensive satellites, which will add to the available firepower in orbit. I also believe that Admiral Clements plans to leave some type of fleet in orbit as further protection. We plan to hold your portion of Caprica permanently from the Cylons. You will receive more details later. Right now, I need to go, we are nearing our first target, and the Cylons seem to be very unhappy to see us. We seem to have a large number of missiles and a few heavy raiders headed our way. General Abramson out."

General Ashton turned to his Command Team. "Get the word out to all commands; make sure they understand that reinforcements are on the way and that a general offensive is being launched against the Cylon perimeter from orbit. Inform our people that they are to stay in place and await further orders. Make sure that they understand that numerous Colonial shuttles will be landing shortly. They are to keep a look out for Cylon raiders but I suspect the Cylon air capability will be a thing of the past very shortly."

"It's really happening," Major Rice said his eyes wide. "We're going to remain on Caprica and not allow the Cylons to drive us off!"

"That's correct Major," Colonel Adams replied with a nod. "I can assure you that Admiral Clements has no intentions of letting the Cylons take over this area of the planet and the civilians it contains. This may very well be the future of the Colonies, the people that you have protected in these parks these last few months. Admiral Clements will be very pleased with what has been accomplished here."

The men turned their attention to the Dradis screen and the hundreds of Colonial craft it showed descending toward the planet. Each one an armed Archangel Bomber, attack raptor, or Nomad Assault Shuttle, the ground assault had begun!"

The Assaultstar Gideon was rapidly descending toward the surface of Caprica. On her screens, General Abramson watched as Cylon interceptor missiles and raiders rose up to meet the massive ship.

"Point defense on line," the tactical officer reported calmly as inbound missiles started to explode as they were intercepted. "Attack raptors are targeting their missiles on the inbound raiders. Nearly 40 raptors specifically modified for planetary attack and support darted past the Assaultstar and began engaging the Cylon raiders. The Cylons had lost the majority of their raiders in the engagement earlier above Caprica. The raptors made short work of the inbound raiders with their interceptor missiles, and continued on spreading out and breaking up into groups of four towards their designated targets on the surface.

"The Chirion reports that they are also under attack but are still descending to planetary assault range. They are knocking down everything that the Cylons are throwing at them," the tactical officer reported as she monitored their progress on her screens.

Deep beneath Caprica City in the Cylon Planetary Command Bunker, four human form Cylons watched their view screens with consternation.

"All Basestars and Support Ships have either been destroyed or have jumped away," the Eight reported as she tried to monitor communication in and around the planet. "We have also lost the majority of our raiders and heavy raiders in the space action."

"Where did the humans get all these ships?" a Doral model demanded his eyes focused on the Dradis screen which showed all the ships in orbit. "Those Battlestars, Gunstars, and now these Marine Assault Ships."

"Don't forget the two Assaultstars that are closing on our surface positions," a blonde Six added grimly as she reset a view screen to show one of the massive Colonial ships descending toward the surface of Caprica. "Evidently we were not quite as successful in eliminating the Colonial fleet as we were led to believe by the Ones."

"Assaultstars!" a Simon model spoke worriedly looking at the screen recognizing the ship class. "We don't have anything currently on Caprica that can stand up to one of those. Where did they get Assaultstars from? They were all decommissioned years ago!"

"The Assaultstars have taken up positions twelve kilometers above the surface and directly over our lines that surround the humans in their parks," the Eight reported as data flashed across her screens. "The Assaultstars are beginning to bombard our fortified positions and I am receiving reports of multiple attacks by Archangel Bombers and raptors. We can probably expect marine landings for mopping up purposes shortly."

"They could wipe out our entire Centurion attack force," the blonde Six said worriedly. "We must summon help!"

"From where," the Simon model responded angrily as he looked at the screens and the data they displayed. "They are jamming our communications to the other Colonies; they have a large fleet in orbit. We sent out heavy raiders to summon help at the beginning of the attack, but it may be very difficult to coordinate a strike against the humans at this time. The Command Basestar was destroyed. We may be on our own until we can mount a fleet of sufficient size to drive this human fleet away."

"We need to order our Centurions to disperse so as to ensure the maximum survival of our assault force," the Eight spoke looking over at the blonde Six.

"I am sending the order now," the blonde Six replied. "But I don't know how much good it will do."

**RAGNAR ANCHORAGE**

At Ragnar Anchorage, Admiral Reynolds had maneuvered the Tauri into a position close to the Anchorage. Already the Tauri's marines had entered through a small maintenance hatch and started their search of the Anchorage for any signs of sabotage. Currently they had over 400 marines in the Anchorage.

"We have the first reports back sir," the tactical officer reported. "The Anchorage was set to blow if any vessel docked with her main airlocks. The marines are currently disarming the Cylon demolition charges. They should be done in less then half an hour. They are continuing to search the Anchorage but it looks like the only charges set were for the main airlocks. They report that the bottom two levels have been completely cleaned out but the other levels are still untouched."

"So the Galactica and her civilian fleet cleaned out the bottom two levels. That still leaves 18 for us," Admiral Reynolds replied nodding his head. "Once we have confirmation that everything is clear, I want the first two fleet supply vessels loaded. They will be loaded with missiles and point defense ammunition for the two Defense Satellites back at Caprica. Once that has been completed we will strip the Anchorage of everything else that is useable."

'Very well," his Exec responded. "If the Cylons give us the time we can take everything in about 20 hours."

"If they just give us the time," Admiral Reynolds responded. "Let's take the Tauri back out and set up a defensive perimeter around the entrance. I want to make sure we have that time!"


	20. Chapter 20

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

On board the Aurora Admiral Clements turned to Commander Cain. "Have my raptor readied. I am going to Caprica; I want to meet with General Ashton and his Command Staff. They will need to know what our long range plans are, and I will feel better if I can set down face to face with the man."

"Yes sir," Commander Cain responded as he passed on the orders to get the Admiral's raptor prepped. The Aurora would stay here on standby with the rest of the reinforcement fleet. He knew what his orders were and felt fully capable of carrying them out.

**CAPRICA**

In Deep Shelter Base, the Command Staff watched the Dradis screen as it once again filled with blips.

"I make it about 130 ships," Colonel Edwards stated as he scanned the data screens on his board as the data flowed across. "Fleet personnel vessels, supply ships, several civilian hospital ships, and a lot of civilian passenger liners."

"They will be landing your support marines shortly," Colonel Adams replied glancing at the screen satisfied that everything was going as originally planned. This was a large operation, and it would be very easy for something to go wrong. "They will be bringing in a lot of supplies, construction equipment for the new bases, raptors, and Archangel Bombers to replace those you have lost. Once that has been done, they will be sending down shuttles to the designated civilian landing zones to begin the civilian evacuation."

"How many can they take back to your base?" Major Rice asked as he gazed at all the Colonial ships on the screens. He couldn't believe that so many had survived the initial attack upon the Colonies.

"We will be loading the ships with everyone they can take," Colonel Adams replied. "We're not going to worry about comfort. They will be packed in as close as we can get them without causing a health or life support problem. We estimate we can take close to 550,000 people back to our base of operations."

They continued to watch the ongoing operation on their Dradis screens and view screens. They could see the Assaultstars from several video feeds they were receiving from the orbiting Defense Satellites. The Assaultstars were playing havoc with the Cylon positions around the parks.

The Assaultstars were taking out all the major concentrations of Cylon weaponry and Centurion troop concentrations with heavy bombardments from their kinetic weapons. This was followed up by Archangel Bomber and raptor attacks if needed.

Behind them, Nomad Assault shuttles, each with a platoon of marines and Landrams would land and finish any resistance that was left? From each Nomad Assault shuttle, two heavily armed Landrams and the platoon of marines would exit. The Landrams would eliminate any heavy Cylon resistance with their heavy cannon and twin weapon turrets. The marines would follow up. The marines were making it a habit to place a metal penetrating round in the head of every Cylon Centurion they came across. Very slowly but surely the Cylon positions were being decimated.

"Sir we have five raptors that have just jumped into low planetary orbit above the base," Captain Silkwood reported surprised watching the Dradis screen. "A full squadron of vipers has surrounded the raptors and they are escorting them down toward us!"

"From their course I would say they are definitely coming here," Colonel Edwards said with some surprise looking questioningly at Colonel Adams wondering if Adams knew what was going on.

"Admiral Clements," General Ashton stated with surprise in his voice, "that has to be Admiral Clements. Colonel Edwards I want two full companies of marines in the landing bay ASAP for full dress honors for receiving a high ranking Colonial Fleet Admiral. I don't want Clements to think we have forgotten who we are, not after what he is doing for us!"

"Yes sir!" Colonel Edwards replied as he barked some orders quickly into a com unit. Then he rushed out toward the landing bay, he knew how important first impressions could be and he fully intended for Admiral Clements to get a very good impression of this base and the personnel that manned it.

General Abramson watched the view screens as the Gideon launched another heavy kinetic barrage at the Cylon positions below them. Huge explosions raced across the countryside as missile emplacements, weapons bunkers, and equipment was wiped out. A kinetic round had a tendency to destroy whatever it struck! Secondary explosions rocked the countryside whenever ammunition supplies or fuel supplies were hit. Smaller KEW batteries were strafing the countryside around the Cylon positions taking out individual Centurions. It was evident that someone had ordered the Centurions to disperse and not stay bunched up.

The Gideon shuddered slightly as two Cylon missiles made it through her heavy defensive fire and impacted on her thickly armored hull. There was no damage and the Gideon continued on. General Abramson smiled as he realized that the Cylons had no weapons remaining that could seriously jeopardize either the Gideon or the Chirion. Nukes were easily detectable and General Abramson was making it a point for scans to be made continuously to detect any. So far they had not.

General Abramson estimated it would take twelve hours for the Gideon and Chirion to complete their razing of the Cylon positions around the parks. Once that was done, they would move off across the planet seeking out targets of opportunity until it was necessary or time for them to withdraw. Already raptors and Archangel Bombers were striking some of these additional targets. Admiral Clements wanted to hurt the Cylons as badly as possible and General Abramson intended to do just that. With the two Assaultstars, he had just what he needed to smash the Cylons with impunity. There was nothing the Cylons could do to stop him, and General Abramson knew it! He was going to make them pay heavily for what they had done to Caprica and the other Colonies!

Aboard the Indram, Major Styles continued to monitor the progress of the repair crews on the two satellites. They had several crews working on the outside of the satellites repairing or replacing defensive turrets and repairing missile-launching tubes. The Indram had brought enough spares to completely repair all the damage done to both satellites. With the arrival of the rest of the fleet, additional crews were now being shuttled to both satellites as well as needed supplies.

The two satellites had always been designed to operate with human crews on board, but the last two civilian administrations had opted to do away with the military crews as a cost cutting method. This meant the satellites had to be controlled from the main Planetary Defense Center just outside of Caprica City.

When they were through with the repairs, each satellite would have an operating crew of 50 technicians and weapons specialists as well as 120 heavily armed marines to replace the ten people that General Ashton had sent to man each one. Major Styles had also been watching the Dradis screen intently. So far two Cylon Basestars had jumped into orbit, and then jumped right back out when they saw the Colonial force that awaited them.

Major Styles smiled with relief when he saw the two Fleet Supply ships jump into orbit just above them. These would contain the missiles and point defense ammunition from the Anchorage. Those two ships should contain enough munitions to completely restock the two depleted Defense Satellites. He also knew that as soon as the Anchorage was stripped, Admiral Reynolds would jump his Battle Group to Caprica adding even more ship strength to what was already here. With a little luck, they could complete their mission before the Cylons could mount a sufficient force to end the operation.

Admiral Clements raptor entered the cavernous landing bay of Deep Shelter Base. Clements wondered just what would await him. He had never met General Ashton before, but from the reports he had received, the General seemed to be a very capable officer. Yes a very capable officer indeed. He had made this trip because he wanted to meet the General as well as to go over some important information.

General Ashton arrived with his Command Staff in the landing bay. With satisfaction, the General saw that the honor guard was already present and standing at attention.

The incoming raptor set itself gently down and the door opened. Several heavily armed marines exited and took up watchful positions on each side of the extended ramp. Admiral Clements stepped into the open hatch and looked with a pleased smile at the gathered marines standing at attention.

A commanding voice rang out. "Colonial Fleet arriving!"

General Ashton walked up to the ramp and saluted as Admiral Clements stepped down from the raptor. "General Ashton reporting sir," the General said.

Admiral Clements saluted back and smiled reaching out a hand to shake the Generals. "You have done a great job here General Ashton. It's amazing what you have been able to do and the number of people you have saved!"

"I had a lot of help sir," General Ashton replied. "I have a good group of people to work with."

"Shall we inspect the marines General; it's been a while since I inspected what looks to be a fine group of young men and women."

The two walked down the assembled lines of marines trailed by the General's Command Staff. Admiral Clements stopped a number of times to shake the hands of various marines and offer supportive comments and praise for the job they had done. Listening and watching the Admiral, General Ashton realized that Admiral Clements was a rare thing. A leader who showed real compassion and concern for the people he commanded!

An hour later, Admiral Clements, General Ashton, and his Command Staff were assembled in the briefing room. "Gentlemen as you may have already noticed we have a rather large fleet that is assembling in orbit. The Cylons have been driven off for the time being and we have full control of orbital space. As you are already aware of we are launching a full-scale assault on the Cylon positions on Caprica. The two Assaultstars are destroying the Cylon positions around the parks. They are being followed up by marine landing forces. When they are finished the Cylon perimeter surrounding you will no longer exist."

"But the Cylons will return with a larger force then ever!" Major Rice interjected with concern. "Won't they take back everything you manage to free up?"

General Ashton frowned at Major Rice's interruption. Major Rice while a competent officer always seemed overly pessimistic.

"Possibly," Admiral Clements replied with a slight nod. "But we have this opportunity to hurt them and I fully intend to take advantage of this situation. What you don't know is that we have also hit Ragnar Anchorage with another Battle Group and are stripping it of everything. We are repairing the two Defense Satellites and completely replenishing their weapons supplies. They will also have permanent manned crews assigned to them from now on. We have placed the fleet Supply Depot Indram in orbit between the two. It has been heavily armored and equipped with offensive and defensive weaponry as well as four viper squadrons. We also intend to leave a full Battle Group in orbit for support. The Cylons may return, but we fully intend to protect and hold the areas that we currently have under our control."

"You hit Caprica and the Anchorage at the same time," Colonel Edwards stated surprised his eyes widening. "You must have more fleet units available then we imagined."

"We have a sizable fleet at our disposal," Admiral Clements replied nodding his head with a slight smile. "Much larger then what the Cylons believe. We intend to use that fleet to inflict as much damage as we can on the Cylons."

"So when can we expect you to evacuate the rest of the civilians from Caprica?" General Ashton asked.

"We aren't," Admiral Clements replied surprising the entire group, then taking a deep breath. "We intend to keep the Cylons off balance and return and retake Caprica permanently!"

The group sat in stunned silence at the Admiral's bombshell. Retake Caprica and hold it, that seemed almost impossible! They had thought that this would be the first of perhaps several operations to remove as many civilians as possible from the surface of Caprica. Everyone was silent for several moments as they thought about what Admiral Clements had just said.

"But how?" Major Rice interjected with a concerned frown. "The Cylons have a massive fleet; you can't stand up to a force that size. I don't care how large a fleet you have, you can't defeat the entire Cylon fleet. They wiped out over 100 of our Battlestars and hundreds of support ships in the original attack, how can you take that force on!"

Admiral Clements smiled looking steadily at Major Rice. He noticed that General Aston was frowning once again at the Major. "What you're not aware of is that a full quarter of that fleet has left in pursuit of the Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus plus the civilian fleet they are guarding. Not only that but there is another group of Colonial survivors that another quarter of their fleet is chasing in the general direction of the Delta Quadrant. Where this second group of Colonial survivors came from we don't know other then that a number of warships are with it."

"The Galactica and Pegasus survived!" Colonel Edwards blurted out surprised, he had met Admiral Cain upon several occasions.

"Yes," Admiral Clements replied. "For some reason the Cylons want the Galactica and Pegasus very badly and the civilian fleet they are protecting. We know from evidence that Adama is searching for Earth, the thirteenth Colony. The Cylons evidently fear that if he succeeds in finding Earth, Adama and Admiral Cain could return with a large war fleet to try to retake the Colonies. The Cylon force that is pursuing them is nearly out of range of all communications. We also have a plan that should even things up considerably with the remaining Cylons."

"Earth!" Major Rice said shaking his head recalling the stories he had heard as a child. "That's just a legend; I can't believe that the Cylons are worried about something that doesn't exist!"

"Perhaps," Admiral Clements replied his eyes narrowing slightly. "But the Cylons are worried and perhaps Earth does exist. We don't know! But the important thing is, a sizable part of their fleet is involved in that chase as well as in pursuit of the other group of Colonials."

"You have no idea where this second group of warships the Cylons are chasing came from?" Admiral Ashton asked.

"We think it might have originated from a secret base that Admiral Corman may have set up," Clements replied leaning back slightly with a crease on his forehead. "Information about it has been very spotty and most of what we have learned has been from Cylon communication intercepts we have decoded. But the important fact is their fleet in the Colonies is far weaker now then it has ever been since the attack."

"There were also a few communications intercepts which indicated that a small group of Battlestars destroyed a major portion of the Cylons ship building capacity right after the attack," Colonel Adams added. "This might also relate to this unknown base."

"How much time are we talking about before you can free Caprica completely?" General Ashton asked as he thought about everything he had just heard. "I assume if it was anytime soon, we wouldn't be evacuating the civilians you are taking at this time."

Admiral Clements paused as he looked around the group before giving his response. "It may take us one or two years before we are ready. In that time we will further strengthen the defenses above Caprica and continue to hold this area from the Cylons. With the Cylons not knowing our fleet capability, we don't believe they will be willing to take heavy fleet losses against the orbital defenses anytime soon."

Everyone was silent for several long moments then Major Rice broke the silence. "One or two years," he said quietly, it sounded like forever. "But if we can manage to hold out, are you sure you can free the planet permanently?"

"Oh yes," Admiral Clements replied confidently. "Not only can we hold it, but the Cylons will not dare attack Caprica again once we have retaken control, but we need that time to complete our preparations."

"If it means freeing Caprica, then we will do everything in our power to make that happen," General Ashton replied determinedly.

"Excellent," Admiral Clements replied looking slowly around the group. "Now gentlemen, lets go over the forces that I plan on leaving here and the new bases we are sitting up. The Cylons will not like the surprise they will find when they return."

Beneath Caprica City, the human Cylons watched with deep concern as their view screens showed the two Assaultstars annihilating base after base and position after position surrounding the humans. They were also starting to get reports of marine and raptor assaults on Cylon positions all over Caprica.

"Are they trying to take back the planet?" the Simon model asked with real worry as another base was blasted out of existence on his screens.

"I don't believe so," the Eight replied with a thoughtful frown. "They are staying away from the larger cities. I believe they are resupplying the human forces already here and are trying to inflict as much damage as they can before our fleet returns."

"They are also repairing the two Defense Satellites and have placed another one in orbit between the two," the blond Six reported worriedly. "They now have a very large fleet of civilian ships as well as military ones in orbit."

"Where did they get all these ships?" the Doral model asked perplexed. "We were told by the Ones that the Colonial forces were nearly wiped out!"

"Evidently our information was wrong," the blonde Six replied sounding peeved. "It will take us months to replace just the Centurions that are being wiped out in this attack. Someone really fraked up! The Ones will have some serious explaining to do!"

They returned to watching their screens as the continuing Colonial attack hit Cylon base after base. There was nothing they could do without orbital assistance and for the moment, their fleet was strangely absent. This raised another question. Why had their fleet not responded?

Aaron and Susan were in their raptor on a course for her parents hunting lodge far up in the Caprica Mountains. Two Nomad Assault Shuttles carrying two fully armed platoons of marines were slightly behind them, followed by two heavily armed raptors for air support. Susan had been very surprised at the force that General Ashton had agreed to for this mission. It wasn't until later that she found out that General Ashton and her father had been classmates at the marine Academy on the outskirts of Caprica City many years ago.

Aaron brought the viper down slowly as they entered the narrow mountain pass that led to her parent's small-secluded hunting lodge. A small-unpaved dirt road wound along the pass and followed a small mountain river that flowed down from the distant snow capped peaks. After a few minutes, the road ended and she could see the small hiking trail that led up to the lodge.

"There it is," she said excitedly as she spotted the lodge and the few small out buildings that supported it. The lodge was built in a small grassy meadow next to a crystal clear mountain lake. "Sit us down there," she said pointing to a small landing area on the east side of the lodge.

Moments later the raptor landed and Susan jumped up from her copilot's seat heading for the hatch.

"Just a moment Susan," Aaron cautioned getting up and grabbing her arm. "Let the marines check everything out first, that's what we brought them for."

A minute later, the two Assault Shuttles landed and the heavily armed marines swarmed down the ramps taking up defensive positions around the shuttles and the raptor. The other two raptors began to slowly circle the landing area keeping a watchful eye out for Cylons.

Susan and Aaron went down the ramp and stopped as they watched the marines slowly approach the lodge and then enter.

"I don't like this Aaron," Susan said fearfully her eyes focused on the lodge. "If my parents were here they would have came out when we landed. Something's wrong!"

A few minutes later, a marine lieutenant approached them. "We found two destroyed Centurions behind the lodge. There is evidence of a firefight inside the lodge and behind it. We also found the remains of several human bodies."

"Oh no,' Susan cried as her worst fears were realized. She fought hard to hold back the tears.

"Did you find anything else," Aaron asked hoping the bodies were not Susan's parents.

"Yes, we found this letter; I believe it's addressed to you," the Lieutenant said handing the sealed envelope to Susan.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she opened it slowly fearful of what it might say. She began to read and then a shocked smile crossed her face. "It's from my father. There was a large hunting party staying at the lodge when the Cylons attacked. They destroyed the two Cylon Centurions and then gathered up supplies and went up into the mountains. Dad says they went camping at the falls!"

"The falls," Aaron said confused. "I didn't know there were any waterfalls around here.

"There aren't," Susan replied excited at what was in the letter. "He is talking about a small set of rapids on a mountain stream about 20 kilometers southeast of here. We have to go there Aaron!"

"Can we get a marine shuttle in there?" the Lieutenant asked.

"No," Susan replied trying to recall the area as best as she could. "But there is a small clearing where we can possibly land a raptor."

The Lieutenant paused a moment then turned and yelled at Sergeant Rush. "Sergeant, get a squad together. You will be going in the raptor farther up into the mountains. There may be survivors there."

Twenty minutes later the raptor was setting down in a very small clearing. There was just enough room to land without hitting the surrounding trees. Aaron had to be very careful with his landing as the space was very tight with several large trees almost touching the raptor's wings.

Susan, Aaron, and the marines exited the raptor and looked warily around. It seemed so peaceful and quiet you would hardly believe that a war was going on. Then from the tree line, Susan heard a familiar voice.

"Susan is that you," an older male voice cried out in disbelief.

"Dad," Susan screamed rushing toward the tall gray haired man who had stepped out into the small clearing. A small group of heavily armed men and women followed him. Susan grabbed her father and hugged him tightly the tears now flowing freely.

Aaron watched from behind with a satisfied grin on his face. This was going to work out after all. He was glad the General had agreed to this rescue mission.

"Where's Mom?" Susan asked worriedly not seeing her mother anywhere.

"She's fine," her dad replied reassuringly looking at Susan, finding it hard to believe that his daughter was standing before him. "She is back at the camp with the others. Where did you come from? We thought the military had been wiped out!"

"Not quite," Susan replied with a very relieved smile. "I have a lot to tell you and some of it you are going to find hard to believe."

"Mr. James," Sergeant Rush said stepping forwards. "How many survivors are with you, we may need to call in other raptors to get them out?"

"There are nearly 200 of us spread out in a number of small camps along the river," Mr. James responded.

"Two hundred!" Susan said surprised and amazed. "Where did they all come from?"

"After the Cylon attack a lot of civilians fled into the mountains, some made it to our hunting lodge," Susan's Dad began. "We were just preparing to go deeper into the mountains when the two Cylon Centurions showed up. Unfortunately for them and thankfully for us, a hunting party had come up the week before. There were several men and women with military experience in the group and they took out the Centurions. We then came up into the mountains and have been here ever since."

Sergeant Rush was quiet for a moment. "I think we need to make this clearing larger so we can get some marine shuttles in here and get everyone out quickly. We don't know how long our window of opportunity will last. The fleet may have to pull out at any time!"

"What fleet?" Susan's father asked a look of confusion growing on his face.

"I will explain everything Dad," Susan replied wanting to see her mother. "Let's go find Mom!"

Four hours later the last civilian was loaded into a shuttle and everyone was on their way back to Deep Shelter Base. They had called in several shuttles from orbit to help in the evacuation. As they flew back, Aaron could see countless fires scattered across the surface. Colonial raptors, Nomad Assault Shuttles, and other Colonial craft were everywhere. For once, he didn't worry about Cylon raiders or missiles. He seriously doubted if any had survived the massive Colonial attack!

In orbit, military and civilian shuttles were now making continuous trips to the surface picking up civilians. A series of broadcasts were being transmitted all over Caprica telling any surviving civilians where the areas of safety were and to make it to the designated World Parks. They were also encouraged to broadcast or signal their positions; if possible they would be picked up by shuttle and taken to the parks.

Aboard the Indram, Major Stiles watched the screens, as the shuttles seemed to be everywhere scattering across the surface as tentative pleas for help and assistance began to come in from various secluded areas of Caprica. The majority of the shuttles were still being used to ferry civilians up into orbit, but about ten percent of the shuttles had been retasked to pick up the civilians now broadcasting. He also watched the status reports on the repair on the two Defensive Satellites. He now had over 500 technical and repair people working on the two satellites as well as a number of specially equipped raptors, which were doing repair work to the satellites armor. Some heavily damaged sections on each satellite were being replaced with new unblemished armor.

Admiral Stockwell was watching the entire evacuation with deep concern. He knew that at any moment, the Cylons could show up with a massive fleet and they would have to end the evacuation. He felt some relief when a few hours later Admiral Reynolds showed up with his Battle Group. With the additional Battlestars and Warstars Admiral Stockwell felt the Cylons would hesitate before attacking the combined force. Just maybe, they would get everything done.

On the surface, the two Assaultstars had completed destroying their primary targets and were already switching over to the secondary targets. Cylon resistance had virtually ended and the remaining Cylon Centurions were spreading out trying to make it harder to hit or find them.

Admiral Clements was still down in Deep Shelter Base meeting with the Command Staff there, he was due to arrive back on the Aurora in two more hours. Just let the Dradis screen stay clear, Admiral Stockwell thought to himself as he looked at the large screen, which showed only Colonial ship Ids currently in orbit around Caprica.

**CYLON SPACE**

**CYLON HOME WORLD**

In orbit around the planet Cylon, the Cylon Command Crew gradually woke up as they were resurrected in their new bodies. Upon awakening, they all hurried to the Command Deck to check on the current status of the human attack.

"What do you mean 72 hours have passed?" James yelled in frustration at the Simon model that had been responsible for his resurrection. "Resurrection is supposed to take two days! What the frak went wrong?"

"Your brother John has moved the Hub so far from us that we can barely access its programs," the Simon model responded defensively. "We were lucky to resurrect you at all. We have even received some reports of failed resurrections! A few of our brothers and sisters had to be boxed! John has also moved the Colony to within several jumps of the Hub."

"Send a subspace communication to John immediately," James ordered with anger showing on his face. "Have him move the Hub and the Colony back immediately, tell him the humans have assembled a large fleet and have retaken Caprica! We must have access to the Hub to resurrect in case our bodies are destroyed in battle!"

"He is not responding to our subspace communications any longer, and from our last reports he is getting ready to jump the hub even farther away," the Simon model replied his eyes flashing rebelliously. "Once he does, our resurrection function here will cease to work! What about the Colony? How will we create any more hybrids to operate the new Basestars we are building in orbit? Only the Colony can create new Hybrids!"

"Tell him that if he doesn't move the Hub back closer, we may be forced to leave the Colonies maybe that will cause him to move it back!" James demanded wondering just what John was doing; they had never discussed moving the Colony. "I am sure he won't move the Colony again. He only needs it to help track the humans and repair his ships."

"I doubt if he will listen," the blonde Six responded worriedly looking at James with a fixed challenging look. "He is so obsessed with the humans he is pursuing that he will jump the Hub and the Colony away from us even farther!"

"That will mean no resurrection," Simon said worriedly looking at the others. "That means if we are killed, we will really die! We will have to leave the Colonies!"

"Our Centurions can continue the fight on the Colonies," Conoy commented. "If we have to evacuate all of our brothers and sisters, the Centurions can complete the mission for us."

"Forget all that," the Eight responded sounding irritated. "The humans have had nearly 72 hours at Caprica. We must return there as quickly as possible. Who knows what damage they are inflicting on the ground forces we left behind!"

"How big a fleet do we have gathered?" James demanded looking at the other Cylons in the Command Center realizing that the Eight was correct.

"Ten Basestars and fourteen Support Ships are ready to leave at your command," a Leoben model replied. "The auxiliary Command Basestar has been activated and is awaiting your arrival."

"Very well, let's get back to Caprica and see what's happened," James ordered glaring at the assembled group. "Once we have taken care of the humans there, we will see what we can do about the Hub and the Colony! If necessary I will go out and talk to John myself!"

The Cylon fleet was one FTL jump from the Colonies when they began receiving reports that the jamming of their communications had ended. Moments later, they jumped into orbit around Caprica. The Dradis was surprisingly clear of human ships. Once in orbit James demanded a status report. On the main view screen, Caprica floated peacefully below them with its white clouds, blue oceans, and green brown countryside.

It took a few minutes before the full extent of the disaster registered. The Command Bunker beneath Caprica City reported that virtually all surface installations had been destroyed except those located inside the major cities. Ninety percent of the Centurions that were outside the cities had been wiped out. All outlying bases had been destroyed. All raiders and heavy raiders had been destroyed.

Even more disheartening was what was sitting in orbit. As the Cylon Fleet neared the PDSs, they began to detect what was there. From their scans, it was obvious that both of the Planetary Defense Satellites had been completely repaired and probably rearmed as well. Even worse, a third large satellite was in orbit between the two Defense Satellites. There was also a Colonial Battle Group consisting of one Mercury Class Battlestar, one Jupiter Class Battlestar, two Columbia Two Class Battlestars, and four Gunstars sitting in orbit under the protection of the satellites. There were also twelve smaller defensive satellites adding their firepower to the Colonial force. A number of vipers were flying CAP around the orbital installations and fleet.

"We can't attack that," the Eight stated as she finished her preliminary scans. "We could probably take them, but we would lose the majority of our ships and raiders. We can't afford to lose that many ships at this time!"

"Those satellites and ships give them control of nearly 30 percent of the surface of Caprica," James said with growing aggravation in his voice at this set back to the plan. He wanted to strike the orbiting Colonials, but he knew that he dared not. They couldn't afford heavy fleet losses until they had the Hub and the Colony moved back closer so they could resurrect. They were still in the process of rebuilding the destroyed fleet shipyards that had been destroyed by those rogue Battlestars. The Eight was correct; they would suffer major fleet losses in an attack on the orbiting Colonial forces!

"We have just received a report that our fleet at Ragnar Anchorage has been wiped out and the Anchorage has been completely stripped!" Simon reported looking over at James as they all digested this last bit of bad news. Now that sub space communication was restored, they were beginning to get reports from the other Colonies and ships. "The human model Cylons that have been resurrected report that Admiral Reynolds and BSG 15 was responsible. They also report that BSG 15 was heavily reinforced. Not only that, but two Warstars took part in the attack." Simon paused for a moment before continuing as he read more information in the data stream. "Both Warstars were equipped with some type of new Pulse Laser weapon. It was very deadly to our ships!"

"We must consolidate our positions on the planet," the blonde Six spoke frowning at this latest information. The Ones had really fraked this operation up! She and several of her sisters had warned the Ones not to attack the humans. "We still control nearly 70 percent of the surface with our fleet. We must not endanger our ships, at least not until we know what the Colonial fleet strength is."

James paused as he weighed his options. This was a serious set back, but he still had a lot of forces at his disposal. It looked like the Colonials had won this round. But there would be others!

"Very well, let's consolidate our forces on the planet," James replied still seething with anger at this setback to the plan. "Suspend all operations against the humans on Caprica for now; pull all of our Centurions back into the cities. We must reinforce our Centurions and rebuild our bases. We must learn everything we can about the Colonial forces that we are now facing. Perhaps we can set a trap for them."

James paused a moment as he thought. Yes a trap and he had just the inkling of an idea that might work. He would keep it to himself for now until he had studied it more, but if it worked it would eliminate the human fleet. He turned to the other Cylons. "Get reports on what forces we still have on the surface. Our first priority must be reinforcing the cities and then expanding back out until we have firm control of our part of Caprica. The humans must not be allowed to expand into our area. If necessary we can move Cylons Centurions from the other Colonies to reinforce here."

"But that will slow our operations on the other Colonies," the blonde Six warned. "There are still some small groups of humans even on those worlds."

"I realize that," James replied wishing that the Six wouldn't question everything. Sometimes he wondered if there wasn't something wrong with their line. "But they're not a threat. This is the only real organized resistance facing us. The other small scattered groups of humans can be dealt with later."

The other Cylons nodded and began working. They scanned the surface and began contacting the scattered Cylons still there. Many of the human Cylons on the planet outside of the cities had been killed. Resurrections were still taking place, but James knew that if the Hub jumped again before all the casualties were down loaded there would be a growing number of failures.

Scans were made of the Colonial forces in orbit and it was confirmed that the PDSs had been repaired and probably rearmed. The orbiting Colonial Battle Group was staying carefully under the protective umbrella of the satellites. Not only that but the third station now in orbit showed some very high power readings. This was worrisome and would require some future investigation. But for now, the Cylons would just wait and watch. They had much to do.


	21. Chapter 21

**PLANET DEMETER**

**DELTA QUADRANT**

**1248 LIGHT YEARS FROM THE CYRANNUS STAR CLUSTER**

Population: 410,000

Military: 42,000

Capitol City: Paradeen

Population: 135,000

Planet has five major cities, which have been built by robotic workers with Kobolan assistance.

…

Admiral Johnathan Stone looked around the assembled group of men and women, which he had hastily called together after receiving a stunning message from Admiral Murray. Admiral Murray was on a surveillance mission in the Caprica system aboard the Kobolan Battle Cruiser Resurgent. Admiral Stone had spent nearly an hour going over the startling information in near disbelief at the data it contained. For the first time in months, since their return from rescuing the survivors of Shadow Base, he felt hope flicker in the back of his mind. He wondered just how many survivors were still alive back in the Colonies. From what Admiral Murray reported, it could be in the millions!

Meeting Attendees

Admiral Reed, Commander of the three Valkyries of BSGS 1.

Major Dyson, Executive Officer of the Titania.

Professor Andrew Carthews and Professor Sylvia Graystone.

Damien Osiris, Kobolan Ambassador.

Denise Anthon, Kobolan scientific advisor.

Captain Mase Landers, of the Kobolan Battle Cruiser Zeus.

Commander Davis, of the Mercury Class Battlestar Aires.

Colonel Welling, Commander of the orbiting fleet base and the two Constructstars.

Andrew Kargan, Demeter Colony Administrator.

General Abrams, Commander of Colonial marines.

Andrea Nagala, responsible for all off planet mining operations.

...

"Thank you all for coming on such a short notice," Admiral Stone began knowing that what he was about to say was going to change a number of their plans. "As all of you know we sent several Kobolan Battle Cruisers to the Colonies to monitor the Cylons and their activities on the Twelve Worlds," Admiral Stone paused for a moment taking a deep breath.

"They have reported back!" Administrator Kargan interrupted surprised his eyes narrowing with concern. "I thought they were not supposed to break communication silence except in a case of dire emergency! We can't allow the Cylons to realize Demeter or Terra exists!"

"That's correct," Admiral Stone replied looking at Kargan. Kargan was a fine Colony Administrator, but he did worry excessively, particularly after they had returned with all the survivors from Shadow Base.

"We must maintain communications silence," Kargan warned not wanting to endanger the fledgling colony. It had taken months for the construction robots, even with the massive aid from Terra to build the necessary housing for the sudden unexpected influx of civilians. "It will be years if ever before we can engage the Cylons militarily. We must remain hidden!"

"I realize that Administrator, however this was a special situation," Admiral Stone continued frowning at the interruption. "Slightly over four days ago two Colonial Battlestar Groups, now identified as BSG 9 and BSG 15 kicked the Cylons off of Caprica!"

"They did what!" Professor Carthews spoke rising to his feet, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Are you sure these reports are accurate Admiral? This could be some type of Cylon trap to lure any remaining survivors in."

"The Colonial fleet has control of Caprica," Commander Davis spoke with his eyes widening at the implications. "How is that possible? We have confirmed reports of most of our ships being destroyed!"

"BSG 9 and BSG 15," Admiral Reed commented thoughtfully as he recalled who commanded those two battle groups. "Those are Admiral Stockwell's and Admiral Reynold's fleets. Not only that, but BSG 9 was docked at Caprica Station when the Cylons attacked!"

"Admiral Clements!" Colonel Welling said quietly looking about the group with dawning realization. "Admiral Kronus mentioned that Admiral Clements was in charge of some type of fail safe operation to save the Colonies. This has to be him. He must be controlling those two battle groups!"

"That's what I believe also," Admiral Stone replied drumming his fingers on the large conference table. "From Admiral Murray's report the two Colonial fleets were involved in a major operation at Caprica. Over one hundred civilian vessels as well as a number of marine Assault Ships were involved. Admiral Murray believes they were evacuating a large number of civilians from Caprica to wherever Admiral Clements base is."

"Then they have gone," Andrea Nagala spoke with disappointment in her voice. Everyone in the room had friends and family still back in the Colonies. The not knowing whether they were alive or dead weighed on their minds everyday. "They may be very difficult to find again. If this is Clements and he is following Admiral Corman's orders, I can promise you that he has a very secure and hidden base somewhere. If the Cylons can't find it there is no way we shall be able to!"

"It may not be as hard as you may think," Admiral Stone replied. "They still control part of Caprica. Somehow, they have managed to activate three Planetary Defense Satellites and have positioned them over one section of the planet. Not only that, but a Colonial Battle group is still in orbit under the cover of the three satellites. Admiral Clements it seems has retaken part of Caprica and intends to hold it!"

"Three Planetary Defense Satellites," General Abrams spoke aloud recalling the firepower of those massive satellites above Caprica. "Those satellites, particularly if they are reinforced by a battle group, would be very difficult for the Cylons to take out. Just how much of Caprica do they cover, and the next question is, how many survivors are under their protection? That has to be why Admiral Clements took this risk. There must be a number of civilians still down on the planet."

"From the intercepts picked up by the Insurgent, the satellites have nearly 30 percent of Caprica under their protection," Admiral Stone replied studying the group for their reaction to his news. "Admiral Murray was not sure of the number of survivors still on Caprica, but from the size of the operation that Admiral Clements mounted and the massive quantity of supplies that were landed, he suspects there are at least several million."

"Several million," Andrea Nagala repeated stunned at the number. It nearly boggled the mind imagining how they had survived the Cylon occupation. "No wonder Clements is attempting to hold Caprica. I met him several times with my father. He is a very astute Admiral. Everything he does will be very well planned and thought out."

"Do we know how many Colonial warships were involved in the initial attack?" Admiral Reed asked wanting to know just how many ships had been involved in the operation over Caprica. How many ships were still active in the Colonial fleet?

"Yes," Admiral Stone replied looking down at a printed list of the ships that Admiral Murray had included in his report. "There were three Mercury Class Battlestars, the Picon, the Tauri, and the Canopus."

"Three Mercury's survived!" Commander Davis exclaimed his eyes lighting up realizing the firepower they represented. No wonder Clements had been able to drive the Cylons away from Caprica. In a standup battle, the Cylon Basestars are no match for a Mercury, let alone three of them.

"Not only were their three Mercurys there were also two Jupiter Class Battlestars, eight Columbia Two Class Battlestars, two Warstars, ten Gunstars, ten marine Assault Ships, and two Assaultstars," Admiral Stone continued going over the remainder of the list. The room was so quiet you could here the rapid excited breathing of the people in the room. The Admiral knew that just the ships alone, that he had just mentioned, changed everything back in the Colonies.

"Assaultstars, Columbia Two Battlestars, and Warstars," General Abrams spoke finally as he looked around the group. "Those ships had to have come from the Boneyards. The Warstars and the Assaultstars were decommissioned years ago, so were most of the Columbia twos!"

"That's thirteen Battlestars plus the two Warstars," Admiral Reed commented surprised at the number of Battlestars Admiral Clements had at his disposal, if this was indeed Admiral Clements, and from the evidence it appeared that it probably was. "That's a lot of surviving firepower."

"Indeed," Admiral Stone replied in agreement. "From the evidence and from the fact that it looks like a large number of civilians were removed, I would state that this is Admiral Clements and he has come out of hiding and is now actively engaging the Cylons. The question is do these ships represent all of his ships, or are there more that he is keeping back?"

"He probably didn't reveal everything," Admiral Reed commented thinking about what he would do if he were in Clements position. "He undoubtedly had a reserve force somewhere in case the operation at Caprica went bad. He would have used the reserve force to jump in and extricate his other ships. Not only that, but a few ships would have been left back at his base of operations to keep it secure in his absence."

"So he probably has some ships the Cylons haven't seen yet," Admiral Clements replied agreeing with Admiral Reed's evaluation of the situation.

"What are you going to do?" Captain Landers asked his eyes focusing on Admiral Stones. "I know our two governments have discussed sending an expedition back to the Colonies at some time in the future to look for more survivors, but this has to change our plans."

Admiral Stone was quiet for a moment, if Admiral Clements was fighting in the Colonies and had already freed part of Caprica, he knew what his sworn duty as a Colonial military officer required of him. "Commander Davis, how soon will the Aires refit be completed?"

"Six more weeks and we will begin our shakedown cruise to test out all the new integrated systems," Commander Davis began thinking briefly about everything that had been done to his ship. "We have rebuilt the Aires to Kobolan standards, integrating Kobolan and Colonial military technology. The Aires will be the most powerful warship ever launched by either the Colonies or the Kobolans."

"She will be our new flagship," Admiral Stone spoke nodding his head. "Colonel Welling, how soon can the four new Jupiter Class Battlestars you are building at the shipyard be ready?" They had started construction on these immediately upon their return from Shadow Base.

"In view of this new information about the Colonies, we can speed up the completion time some, but not by much," Colonel Wellings replied, thinking about what could be done to decrease the remaining time needed to complete the new warships. "I will talk to our Kobolan technicians and see what we can do; right now I would have to say another three months before they are completed. Remember, these new Jupiters are being built from the keel up based on the Kobolan designs for that model Battlestar."

"What about the rest of our warships?" Admiral Stone inquired, knowing that a number of his warships were at Terra in the massive orbital docks undergoing repairs and refits to Kobolan standards.

"I spoke recently with the Commander of our orbiting shipyards," Ambassador Osiris replied wondering exactly what Admiral Stone was planning. "She reports that all of your ships, except the Aires will be ready within the month. Admiral, are you planning on taking your warships and returning to the Colonies to assist Admiral Clements?"

"At some point I think we have to," Admiral Stone replied with a nod of his head. "Particularly if there are a substantial number of survivors back in the Colonies. But first, I need to make a trip to Terra to talk to your leaders. When we return to the Colonies I want some of your Kobolan Battle Cruisers to go with us."

Ambassador Osiris was quiet for a minute. He had been expecting this request from Admiral Stone as soon as he realized what this meeting was about. The Kobolan government had already agreed to furnish a few Battle Cruisers when Admiral Stone returned to the Colonies to search for additional survivors, but now the situation had changed. Osiris knew that Admiral Stone would not be satisfied with just a few Kobolan warships.

"I will return with you to Terra," Ambassador Osiris replied after a few moments. "I will help plead your case to our leaders. I think our President will be agreeable, it is the Quorum and the other government leaders we will have to convince."

"I will speak with our technicians at the shipyards," Denise Anthon spoke, her eyes deep in thought. "We will have the new Jupiters ready when you need them, I promise."

"Very well," Admiral Stone replied rising to his feet. "I will be sending each of you a copy of Admiral Murray's report. Keep this information to yourself for now. I will be making a brief announcement to our people about the events at Caprica as soon as I return from Terra."

Four hours later Admiral Stone stood in the CIC of the Titania looking at the main view screen, which showed Demeter seeming to float peacefully beneath the powerful Titan Class Command Gunstar. The blue and white planet was now the home of nearly 500,000 Colonials. The five modern cities that had been constructed by the construction robots and the Kobolans made it hard to believe that this Colony was less then two years old.

"What are you going to do Admiral," Major Dyson asked. She knew that the Admiral would want to return to the Colonies and help Admiral Clements. From their private talks, particularly after they had located Admiral Reed and BSGS 1 when the battle group had showed up on a Kobolan FTL detection sensor buoy, she knew he wanted to return to the Colonies. "What if the Kobolans won't commit any of their Battle Cruisers?"

Johnathan looked at another view screen that showed the massive and now heavily armed orbiting shipyard where the new Jupiters were being built. Next to the shipyard, two Constructstars hovered nearby. Each one held a new Titan Class Gunstar under construction. He had been pushing ship construction and the refits the Kobolans were doing, just so he would have a powerful force to return to the Colonies with. He had planned to use the Kobolan stealth technology to search the Colonies for survivors and bring them back to Demeter.

"Then we will return with what ships we have," he replied softly but determinedly. "The defense grid is finished around Demeter. That grid by itself would hold off a major Cylon attack. We know that the Cylon fleet pursuing us was destroyed; there is another section of their fleet still pursuing the Galactica. We know how much Admiral Reed damaged their shipyards. The Cylon are at their weakest. We estimate it will still be another three to six months before Cylon ship production can return to preattack levels. If we are going to strike the Cylons, it has to be in the next few months!"

"With our ships and the ones Admiral Clements possesses, we may be able to free the Colonies," Major Dyson spoke as she thought about the tactical situation they would face. "The Cylons can't afford major ship losses until their shipyards are repaired or rebuilt."

"I have informed Admiral Murray to return to Demeter," Admiral Stone continued as the Titania prepared to jump to Terra. "Captain Landers and the Zeus will be going to pick him up. I will need him to be in command of his battle group once the last of his ships has finished their refit."

"The new FTL route, which Denise mapped out back to the Colonies, will really help," Major Dyson commented as she prepared to give the order to engage the FTL drive. "Just twelve days journey back to the Colonies. Three long range jumps per day." She nodded at the FTL officer who inserted the jump key and turned it.

The Titania vanished in flash of white light leaving Demeter behind.

_This is a short chapter because there are some things I don't want to reveal at this time. The important thing is that Admiral Stone now knows that Admiral Clements has survived, and there are numerous survivors on Caprica._

_On more thing that I want to mention. The Cylons have no fleet Admirals or overall fleet commander other then the Ones. They make most of their decisions based on a mutual consensus of the human models. Because of their over bearing personalities the Ones seem to dominate the consensus. _

_The human Admirals have had years of specialized training in tactics, strategy, and participated in numerous war games. If not for the CNP backdoor, the Cylons would never have stood a chance in a real battle. That's another reason why they infiltrated so many Colonial warships and had agents in place, such as Gina on the Pegasus and Boomer on the Galactica, to take out high-ranking Colonial officers._

_The Cylon's main tactic is to overwhelm the opposition with massive waves of raiders and then follow up with nuclear missiles. Their Basestars are not heavily armored; they are lightly defended, and possess few heavy weapons other then missiles and a few KEW batteries. Their main defenses are their raiders. _

**Kobolan Fleet Strength**

22 Battle Cruisers 6 under construction

40 Heavy Escorts 10 under construction

_After I finished Gunstar Titania, it was pointed out to me that I had made the Colonial ships as well as the Kobolan ships to weak in firepower. I have since corrected the Colonial ships. Listed below are the corrected Kobolan ships._

**Kobolan Battle Cruiser**

Length 1,500 meters

Width 350 meters

Height 350 meters

6 Heavy bow KEW batteries

6 Bow missile tubes

32 Medium KEW twin turrets encircling the hull

24 Missile tubes. 12 on each side of the ship

198 Twin point defense turrets

64 Twin laser point defense turrets

24 Interceptor missile batteries

Energy shielding

Stealth shielding

Crew of 800

Marines 200

Kobolan Battle Cruisers are designed for three month to six month deployments. Kobolan ships are also more automated requiring smaller crews. They also don't use fighter craft. They have a small landing bay for shuttles only.

**Kobolan Heavy Escort**

Length 600 meters

Width 175 meters

Height 175 meters

2 Heavy bow KEW batteries

2 Bow missile tubes

8 Medium twin KEW turrets. Four on the upper hull and four on the lower hull

6 Missile tubes. Three on each side of the ship

64 Twin point defense turrets

36 Twin laser point defense turrets

12 Interceptor missile batteries

Energy shielding

Stealth shielding

Crew of 200

Marines 50

**Surviving Colonial Ships at Demeter**

Aires, Mercury Class Battlestar

Olympia, Jupiter Class Battlestar

Victory, Valkyrie Class Battlestar

Independence, Valkyrie Class Battlestar

Dark Search, Valkyrie Class Battlestar

Shrike, Valkyrie Class Battlestar

Nichen, Warstar

Phoebe, Firestar

Titania, Command Titan Class Gunstar

Lodestar, Titan Class Gunstar

Nebula, Titan Class Gunstar

Defiant, Titan Class Gunstar

Eros, Titan Class Gunstar

Erebus, Titan Class Gunstar

Trinity, Assault Class Gunstar

Gaia, Assault Class Gunstar

Charon, Defender Class Gunstar

Antem, Defender Class Gunstar

In addition, there are seven marine Assault Ships

**Under Construction**

4 Jupiter Class Battlestars

2 Titan Class Gunstars

These ships are the survivors from the Caspian System, Shadow Base, Admiral Stone's colonization group, and BSGS 1.


	22. Chapter 22

**DAY 250**

Admiral Clements was standing in front of the main view screen in the CIC looking out over the fleet from the Battlestar Aurora, his mind dwelling on the recently completed mission. He had just finished reading the final casualty reports from the operations at Caprica and Ragnar Anchorage. Two valuable Gunstars lost, another four seriously damaged and in the repair bays of the Nexus shipyard, several other ships including two Battlestars lightly damaged and waiting on repair. Twelve hundred fleet personnel lost, another 2,000 marines confirmed killed in the ground operation, and nearly 6,200 fleet personnel and marines injured, most of these would see a complete recovery. It was the price of war, sometimes very costly, but this was a war to prevent the extinction of the human race. Even so, it didn't make Admiral Clements feel proud about sending brave young men and women out to die!

"You brought back nearly 543,000 civilians," Mayor Mike Patterson said encouragingly from his side.

He knew that the Admiral didn't want to lose men and women under his command. Mike knew that the Admiral was a very compassionate individual for someone in his position. There was no doubt in Mike's mind that compassion was what made Admiral Clements so suited for the job he held.

Mike had come over to talk to the Admiral about the current status of the New Haven Colony and Agro 1. "That gives us a total civilian population of nearly 1,658,000. It also gives us a total military population of around 206,000, since we left 20,000 marines back on Caprica."

Mike paused before continuing, taking a long thoughtful look at Admiral Clements. "Admiral I know that you lost a lot of people, but you saved a whole lot more; not only that but the marine base on Caprica and the civilians under its protection are secured for now."

Turning away from the view screen, Admiral Clements slowly nodded his head in agreement knowing that Mike was correct. "I know it was necessary Mike. I just worry about what is still ahead of us. This was just the first battle. I fear there will be many more, and we can't afford to lose a single one!"

"You have some good help Admiral," Mike replied. "Admiral Stockwell and Admiral Reynolds are both good Commanders."

"How are you and Governor Anderlen dealing with getting everyone settled in?" Clements asked with a quizzical look. "I realize it's a big task to get all these people processed and assigned to where they can best help us."

"We are processing them as rapidly as possible," Mike replied raising his eyebrow slightly thinking about all the long hours still ahead. "They seem to understand the need and are responding quite well. I think for the most part, they are just glad to be off Caprica and somewhere away from the war where they will be safe."

"That's good," Admiral Clements replied with a slight nod of his head, knowing that it was imperative that they get all the recently rescued civilians settled in as quickly as possible. "We will probably be adding even more evacuees from Caprica and possibly Picon if we act on the information we have been gathering."

"The two groups the Cylons are holding on Picon and Celeen 2," Mike replied with a knowing look. "If those people are really there we have to go get them. We can't leave children in the hands of the Cylons for experimentation. Nor the military people on Celeen 2. The working conditions there must be horrible."

"How are our new colonies coming along?" Clements asked knowing he couldn't do much more until the two new colonies were completed. They just didn't have room for any more survivors. He wondered just what to do if they were forced to launch a rescue mission to Picon before the new colonies were ready.

"We're managing," Mike replied recalling all the meetings and planning they had been doing trying to cope with the influx of refugees from Caprica. We currently have about 775,000 civilians living in Sidon City. We have managed to put another 400,000 into tent cities in New Haven. We should have construction done there in another three months and then the people can move into the new city. The city is being designed to hold between 850,000 to 950,000 people initially. Its design is pretty similar to Sidon City with just a few modifications we decided to make; it will be about 25 percent larger in area."

"Construction has gone really well it sounds like," Clements replied glad they had decided early on to build the two new colonies. "This was an excellent idea you came up with, building these asteroid colonies!"

"We won't need as much agricultural land in New Haven since we are constructing Agro 1," Mike replied continuing his report. "But there will still be a large number of parks and a significant green area surrounding the city. We currently have 75,000 people spread out working on various construction projects. We are working on both New Haven and Agro 1 around the clock. Give us another six months and we will have our population problem licked as well as plentiful food supplies. With the three agricultural levels we are putting in Agro 1, we will be able to feed quite a large population. Governor Anderlen will be taking over the New Haven colony as its Governor and Mayor when construction is finished."

"What size of population will Agro 1 hold,'" Clements asked curiously trying to get an estimate of just how many civilians the new colonies could actually handle if necessary.

"Around 150,000," Mike replied recalling the number they had decided would best suit that particular colony. "Besides all the agricultural land which will need to be tended, we have the food processing plants, a number of automated factories, and basic system functions that will need to be monitored to keep the colony functioning. Current plans call for three small cities to be built, each capable of holding about 50,000 inhabitants. One each in the three main levels of Agro 1. There will also be a Mayor/Governor for that colony once we have it established."

"How soon before we start on the fourth colony?" Clements asked. They had delayed work on the fourth asteroid, which was all ready in orbit around the smaller planet. All their energies had been focused on getting the New Haven colony and Agro 1 completed as quickly as possible.

"At least another two months before we can start," Mike replied thinking about the time schedule they were currently working on trying to get the New Haven colony and Argo 1 completed. "As you recall we decided months ago to delay construction on the fourth colony until we knew for sure we were going to need it."

"That was before we knew just how many survivors there were on Caprica," Clements replied recalling the debate on whether to construct the last three colonies. "At the time it was decided that our resources would be better spent in the short run on getting all the ships from the Boneyards repaired and fully operational."

"It was the right decision at that time," Mike replied recalling the heated debate over constructing more asteroid colonies.

"How is the civilian government working? Right now you and Governor Anderlen seem to be running everything," Clements said relieved that Mike and Governor Anderlen seemed to be doing a great job of handling the civilians. It was one less headache he had to worry about. "Do the two of you need more help? Sounds like you have a lot of eggs in your basket. I'm sure we have a lot of qualified people floating around in all these refugees."

"We have found a number of good experienced people," Mike replied nodding his head. "We have been screening everyone as quickly as we can, and putting people to work that have the qualifications we need."

"We will need to do some military training eventually," Admiral Clements added thoughtfully turning to gaze back at the view screen, which was now focused on one of the fleet Battlestars. "We may need to enlarge our marine detachments as well as train additional fleet personnel. For now we are fine, but once we begin additional new ship construction, it might be necessary."

"I think we will be ok with that," Mike spoke knowing that at some point in time military training would be necessary. "We plan on having a combination Governor/Mayor for each colony except the military one when we are finally through with everything. The people of each colony will elect their own representative for the governing council. Governor Anderlen even plans to hold new elections for New Haven as soon as they are settled in and he can make the necessary arrangements. I really believe that once construction of the colonies has been completed, you may have a quite a few volunteers for the marines and the fleet. We have already had a number of people make inquiries about that."

Admiral Clements nodded. "I don't think we will take any new personnel until the military colony is completed. That will give us adequate training facilities and the needed space. Just keep up the good work Mike. You are doing a great job, both you and Governor Anderlen."

**CELEEN 2**

**MOON OF PICON **

**CYLON INTERNMENT CAMP 4**

Two Human Cylons were discussing the recent events in the Caprica system outside their Command Center. Beside them, two towering metal Centurions stood vigilant. Already word of the Caprica disaster had spread through the Cylon ranks like wild fire.

"This Admiral Clements is going to be a major problem," the Simon model spoke voicing his growing concern and ire with the human situation. "We took special pains in the initial attack to try to ensure that no high ranking fleet officer survived. It now seems that we failed! Admiral Clements was fourth in command of the Colonial Fleet. Not only that but the ninth and fifteenth Battlestar Groups seem to be relatively intact as well as their Commanding Admirals. If we can no longer use our resurrection ships to bring us back, it may change the direction of this entire war. We don't have the military training these Colonial fleet Admirals do!"

"I already heard that plans are being made to evacuate most of us from the Colonies," a Leoben model replied nodding his head as he gazed out across the compound. "We are sending a ship after Cavil to try to get him to move the Colony and Hub back closer to us so the Resurrection Ships will work. If he won't or we can't find him, we are going to have to let the Centurions do most of the fighting from now on. After what happened on Caprica, we know that the humans can hit us anywhere."

"I understand there were two confirmed Mercury Class Battlestars used in the attacks," the Simon model replied. "The Mercury's are very dangerous to our Basestars! They are just too powerful!"

"Who would have believed that the humans could still posses so many warships!" the Leoben model continued frowning. "Our intelligence was very bad in this regard. We thought their fleet had been wiped out. This entire war may still turn out to be one big mistake. Many of us were opposed to it to begin with, only Cavil's assurance of complete success and his reminding us of the threat the humans posed, got us to go along with his plans for this war. The latest reports now say there may have been three Mercury Class Battlestars involved in the attacks on our forces."

The Simon model was silent for a moment. His entire line had agreed with the war. The humans had to be wiped out, he was very well aware that other models did not agree. Besides a few of the Leoben models, many of the Sixes and Eights had voiced concerns for the war as well.

"They managed to take and hold Caprica for over 70 hours, heavily reinforcing the marine group that is there," the Simon model continued. "They destroyed most of our ground bases and nearly wiped out the Centurion forces on the ground. Nearly 400,000 Centurions were reported destroyed! Just the losses in Centurions alone will set us back months if not years. There is even a Colonial Battle Group in orbit between the defense satellites they control. From what I have heard, they now control nearly 30 percent of Caprica's surface. It will be months before we can put enough Centurions back on Caprica to mount a successful counter attack. This is a serious set back for our plans."

"Our intelligence reports that they landed additional marines and are in the process of building a number of new military bases," the Leoben model replied looking out over the ram shackle buildings that held the captive humans. "It will take a major effort from us to drive them out. There are millions of surviving humans in the area they now control. The situation on Caprica is almost intolerable. This if very bad, it is what many of us feared, the humans surviving and becoming a real threat to us once more."

Around the corner of the building two junior human fleet officers listened in stunned amazement to what they were hearing. For several more minutes, they stealthily listened before hurrying off. They had to find someone and find them quickly. If what they had overheard was true, that officer could be in tremendous danger.

The two junior fleet officers entered a small building that barely served to keep out the rain. Most of the buildings in the internment camp had been hastily thrown together with whatever materials they could find. Many had no walls but only roofs and a floor to keep out the cold rain. The living conditions were terrible in the camp. Inside they found the officer they were looking for meeting with several other officers.

"Major Clements sir, we have news you have got to hear!" one of the Lieutenants spoke excitedly.

"Calm down Lieutenant," Major Clements ordered with a frown. Clements and several other officers had been going over the latest demands from the Cylons for Tylium delivery. They were also looking over the disheartening reports that showed another fourteen men and women had died over night in just this camp alone. Who knew how many had died in the other camps scattered around the Tylium mines and refining centers.

Colonel Jacobson the senior surviving officer in the camp looked at the young Lieutenant speculatively. "What is so important to interrupt our meeting Lieutenant?" he asked, he felt very tired as they all did. Physical and mental exhaustion had become a way of life in the camps.

The Cylons expected them to work the mines around the clock and it was all they could do to get the daily quotas out. They had set up a 12-hour shift rotation with the personnel they had and even that was beginning to wear thin. The poor physical condition of the men and women in the camps as well as the limited food they received was rapidly reaping its toll. Soon they were going to have to increase the shifts to 14 hours or they would not be able to meet the quotas. If they failed to meet the quotas, there would be serious reprisals from the Cylons. With no hope, horrible working conditions, and barely enough food to get by on, many had just given up, refusing to work and accepting the quick death the Cylons offered. They knew that originally nearly 400,000 men and women had been brought to the moon. If their current reports were accurate, only slightly more then 260,000 remained.

"Sir we overheard two of the human Cylons talking," Lieutenant Gibbs continued excitedly. "The Colonial fleet was not completely destroyed! Admiral Clements escaped and has attacked the Cylons at Caprica!"

"What did you say?" Major Clements asked rising to his feet feeling shock run through his body. "Are you saying that my father has survived and has a war fleet under his command?"

Yes sir," Lieutenant Gibbs replied with a vigorous nod of his head. "He managed to hold Caprica against the Cylons for over 70 hours. There is some type of major resistance group backed by Colonial Marines, which is now holding almost 30 percent of the surface of the planet. The purpose of the attack was to resupply this marine group and evidently, from what the Cylons were saying, he landed at least another full marine division on the surface!"

The entire room was quiet as the ramifications of what the Lieutenant was reporting set in. "Are you absolutely sure about this?" Colonel Jacobson demanded finding it hard to believe what he was hearing. They had all assumed for so long now that the war was over, and the Cylons had wiped everything and everyone out.

"Yes sir," Lieutenant Gibbs replied nodding his head. "Admiral Clements has regained control of several of the Defense Satellites above Caprica. They are building bases, military bases on the surface under the protection of the satellites. The Cylons are in a near panic over what to do. They said Admiral Clements supposedly destroyed over 400,000 Cylon Centurions in his attack. Not only that, but the Cylons said there are millions of surviving people in this area that Admiral Clements controls. Sir, the Cylons said millions, our people are still alive, the Colonies have not been completely destroyed!"

"Admiral Clements survived and there are survivors on Caprica," Colonel Jacobson said stunned at the news as he tried to digest what the young Lieutenant was saying. Around the group, glimmerings of hope could be seen dawning on their haggard faces. The first signs of hope they had felt in many long months of captivity. They had all believed that the Colonies were gone and once the last of them died on Celeen 2, the human race would be at an end. "Did the Cylons say what ships he has?"

"They said something about the ninth and fifteenth Battlestar Groups, plus some ships he has picked up at the Boneyards," Gibbs replied trying to remember as much of the conversation as possible. "It was large enough to destroy the Cylon fleet at Ragnar Anchorage, which Admiral Clements stripped for supplies as well as drive the Cylon fleet from Caprica!"

"Admiral Reynolds and Admiral Stockwell," Major Clements said recalling which Admirals commanded those fleets. "If my father has attacked Caprica and set up bases, then you can bet your ass he has the muscle behind him to accomplish what he wants. This may just be the opening round in a counter offensive against the Cylons. The war isn't over, we're still fighting!"

"If he had the firepower to do that and take out over 400,000 Centurions on Caprica, no wonder the Cylons are worried," Colonel Jacobson said looking around his group of officers.

Everyone in the room was silent for several long moments as the full ramifications of what the Lieutenant was reporting sunk in. They had all thought they had nothing to live for, that the Cylons had destroyed everything that mattered to them. Now to find out there were survivors, possibly millions of them, plus an active Colonial fleet was astounding.

"Major Clements, we can't afford to have the Cylons realize who you are. If they find out that Admiral Clements is your father, they may try to use you against him," Colonel Jacobson spoke thinking furiously looking at the Major.

"Won't work," Major Clements replied with a wry smile. "With my father the Colonies will come first, he knows his duty. The Cylons won't be able to use me against him."

"Even so, I think it's best for your own safety if you disappear for awhile," Colonel Jacobson said. "We have some emergency supplies put back. I am going to send you and a small group up into the mountains where you will be safe from the Cylons."

"But sir," Major Clements said objecting his eyes widening in disagreement. "My place is here with my surviving crew from the Pegasus." (_The training Battlestar Pegasus, not Admiral Cain's ship.)_

"A few of them will go with you, but for now I think this is for the best," Colonel Jacobson replied. "We have just discovered that the war is not lost, that we have fellow officers and high ranking fleet personnel still surviving, still fighting, this changes everything!"

The next morning Major Clements and ten others had vanished. Colonel Jacobson put their names down over the next several days as being deceased. That should not cause the Cylons to become overtly suspicious. People died nearly every day in the camps. That should prevent the Cylons from investigating our realizing just who Major Clements was.

Now they just needed to spread the word quietly that there was still hope. The Colonies still survived! This would give the people being held on the moon a reason to stay alive. Hope for a future! Maybe even slow down the deaths if the people knew that they now had something to live for. If Admiral Clements was to find out about Celeen 2, there was no doubt in Colonel Jacobson's mind that the Admiral would come for them, when that day happened they had to be ready. There were plans that needed to be made.

**DAY 255**

Mayor Mike Patterson and Governor Jim Anderlen were inspecting the New Haven colony, checking on the work that was being done as well as the settling in of the new colonists from the civilian fleet. They were currently standing in what would soon be the center of the new Colonial city. Already large buildings were rising around them as automated machinery quickly erected and finished the buildings under the watchful eye of human supervisors and engineers. Numerous Six-foot multi armed construction robots that looked like giant spiders scurried about everywhere guided by their programs. Human contractors and design specialists would finish up the buildings interiors when the heavy construction was completed.

"It's amazing how quickly this construction is progressing," Governor Anderlen commented. In the distance a large city park could be seen, a number of men and women were busy putting in a small scenic lake as well as planting numerous small trees, shrubs, and grass. "When this is done you could almost believe we are back in the Colonies."

"We are using men and women from the evacuation fleets to do a lot of the manual labor," Mike commented gazing about. "It gives them something to do as well as something to look forwards to, after all in a few more months this will be their new home. Plus they enjoy just getting out of the ships for awhile. It's good for moral."

Above them, numerous large lights gave off the effect of bright afternoon sunlight. As the day progressed the lights would slowly dim imitating dusk and then finally night. Miniature lights placed strategically in the gently sloping ceiling would duplicate star formations as seen from Caprica so as the night sky would not seem so dark or enclosing. They could even create rainfall from a sprinkler system in the ceiling that would allow water to fall over the entire enclosed colony. They had even added special speakers to give off the sound of distant thunder to imitate the sound of an evening thunderstorm.

"I checked on the automated factories and storage facilities being put in at the north end of the colony yesterday, it is truly amazing what we are going to be able to produce," Jim said shaking his head in amazement. "We were fortunate you had the designs for all of these facilities stored in the computer core on the Sidon."

"It was Admiral Corman," Mike replied remembering all the work that had been done to design and set up the automated factories that produced nearly everything the Sidon could ever need. "He made sure we had designs capable of producing almost anything the Twelve Colonies could manufacture. I think that deep inside, he always feared that the Cylons would return in over whelming force. Especially when the military started being cut back. He wanted to make sure the Sidon and our culture survived. We have computer copies of massive amounts of literature, art, and music also stored in the Sidon's computer core."

"How are the new shipyards progressing? I haven't had an opportunity for a tour of the south end with all the construction going on there," Jim asked peering in that general direction.

"Right on schedule," Mike replied. "We should begin construction of the first four Titan Class Gunstars within four months. I talked to Admiral Anders yesterday and the new ships will be nearly 25 percent larger then our current Gunstars with 40 percent more firepower. We are also going to modernize them. Our current fleet was kept almost archaic in order to keep costs down. The new computer systems, mega pulse lasers, and shield technology should make these ships something special."

"I thought force fields were too energy dependent to be practical or cost effective," Governor Anderlen said recalling some of the earlier briefings that he had set in on while Governor of Virgon.

"There are in general," Mike replied nodding his head. "But these involve some technology we have never used before. With modern computer technology, these new shields can be made to function, or so I have been told. Plus we are not as concerned about costs as the governments of the Colonies were. The primary shield will be in the reactive armor of the ships making the armor almost 400 percent more effective at dispersing energy."

"So who will control the construction facility?" Jim asked looking at Mike. He could well remember all the arguments he had taken part in demanding military cutbacks on Virgon. With guilt, he knew that had been a huge mistake. Never again would he take the military for granted. "Will it be a military or civilian controlled operation? I would like to see as many civilians working at the yard as possible. The more people we can put to work the better our moral will be."

"It will be a joint operation," Mike replied, he knew from the numerous conversation he had previously with Jim that the Governor felt horrible about his previous opposition to the military. "I talked about it in depth with both Admiral Anders and Admiral Clements. They want to use as many civilians as possible. Don't forget that the Caprican shipyard was a combination of both and seemed to work very well."

The two continued on their tour taking a ground car across the colony, checking on various construction sites and visiting with the different crews busy sitting up the new colony. Both felt that everything was progressing very well.

**DAY 270**

**DEEP SHELTER BASE**

**CRYSTALL FALLS PARK**

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton was in his office reviewing the latest reports. Colonels Edwards, Adams, and Major Rice were with him.

"We are continuing to run rescue operations across the planet," Colonel Adams reported. "For some reason the Cylons are not interfering and are allowing us to bring in everyone we find. They are even allowing survivors through their lines without any resistance. Of course after Admiral Clements attack their lines are pretty thin."

"Are we checking the survivors for Cylon agents?" Major Rice asked with some concern on his face. "We don't want infiltrators to make it into our secure areas."

"We are checking against known Cylon models, the danger is if there are any models we don't know of," Colonel Edwards replied thumbing through several reports before him. "We also believe that so many Cylon Centurions were destroyed in Admiral Clement's attack that the Cylon Command on Caprica is nervous about committing their remaining Centurion assets. We don't know how long that will continue."

"Then we better rescue everyone we possibly can," General Ashton spoke looking at the other three. "I suspect that it won't be long before the Cylons resume operations against us, we must be ready!"

"We have brought in a lot of civilians," Major Rice continued looking down at one of the reports. "A fraking lot of civilians. I never would have believed that so many people survived!"

General Ashton paused as he weighed the information, glancing at a report lying in front of him. "From our latest reports we have slightly over seven million people in the parks; it's beginning to get extremely crowded!"

"We are recommending that we allow the civilians to move back into some of the smaller communities and towns that are intact around the parks," Colonel Edwards spoke. "We estimate we can move nearly three million people into them if we are careful." Colonel Edwards stood and walked over to a large wall map that showed the area around and between the parks. "Not only that, but many of these are farming communities and would greatly help our food situation. There are also a few automated factories in some of the larger towns that could be useful."

"Can we protect them if we do that?" General Ashton asked with a little concern showing in his voice. He knew that in order to do so they would have to spread the marines out even more. "We don't want to expose our people to Cylon attack!"

"Yes sir," Colonel Adams replied. "We have sufficient forces in orbit to prevent any type of orbital attack as well as sufficient ground and air defenses to cover the areas in question. Most of the new bases have been completed, and we have sufficient raptors and Nomad Bombers to cover the entire area."

"Excellent," General Ashton replied, then almost as an after thought. "You know that the Cylons are probably allowing these rescue operations so we will have all the survivors in one general location."

"Yes sir," Colonel Edwards replied letting a little bit of a worried tone drift into his voice. "We know that, but we want to take advantage of this situation to rescue as many people as possible. If the Cylons try to take us, it will be one frak of a fight with the firepower we have now. We are also recruiting as many young men and women as we can to increase the size of our ground forces. With any kind of luck, we will have over 100,000 trained marines in another four months. We are also going to be sitting up armed militias in all the communities we move back into incase they are needed. I estimate that will add about another 40,000 partially trained men and women to our forces."

"Anything else we need to cover today?" General Ashton inquired satisfied that everything was going as well as could be expected.

"One more thing," Colonel Adams said in a serious tone of voice. "Admiral Clements has requested that we send him a seasoned squad of marines and a pair of highly qualified raptor pilots for an important covert off world mission he has planned. He wants people with experience in dealing with the Cylons first hand as well as flying over their lines."

"Very well," General Ashton said nodding his head wondering what Clements was up to. "Colonel Edwards see to it immediately."


	23. Chapter 23

_**Sometime between day 270 and 280 the Caprica rescue mission was launched from the Galactica and the Pegasus. Because the Cylons had earlier taken out all the Colonial reconnasaince satellites in orbit, other then the two Defense Satellites, the raptors were not detected. Neither Deep Shelter Base nor the Colonial ships in orbit detected the raptors either because they were on opposite sides of the planet from the rescue mission. The raptors jumped low into the planet's atmosphere, which further made detection difficult. **_

_**The rescue occurred in a semi mountainous area between two major cities that the Cylons were still in control of. After taking major casualties from Admiral Clement's attack, the Cylons were hesitant about taking any more casualties until their Centurion ranks could be reinforced from the other Colonies. The Cylons pulled their Centurions back from the resistance group and the marines involved in the rescue mission due to orders not to engage any heavily armed groups. They assumed this was just another rescue mission from the marines that were currently involved in rescue operations across the planet from Deep Shelter Base. **_

_**For the time being, the Centurions had standing orders to determine the extent of the opposition they faced and to withdraw before suffering major casualties. Rescue operations were being allowed. They wanted all the surviving humans in one location. Once they were all in one location, the Cylons would use their Centurions to wipe out the last surviving humans on Caprica, other then those that were in the farms for procreation research.**_

**DAY 280**

**PICON**

**SOUTH OF QUEENSTOWN**

**CYLON HUMAN RESEARCH FACILITY**

The Colonial raptor sat carefully down under the cover of thick concealing clouds and late night darkness. The raptor landed in a heavily wooded area away from any roads or signs of habitation. The raptor was heavily shielded from detection and had a full range of ECM equipment at its disposal. Captain Sims had managed to set the raptor down within ten kilometers of what looked like a major civilian detention center just south of where the city of Queenstown had once stood on Picon.

"I don't believe we were detected," Mark Wilson the ECM specialist reported as he looked over his screens. "I think we made it in clean."

"Good," Captain Sims replied looking over at Susan. "Susan shut all the systems down. I don't want us giving off any power readings that the Cylons may be able to detect. Sergeant Rush, go ahead and deploy your squad and get the camouflage netting up over the raptor."

Sergeant Rush pushed the button next to the airlock, it instantly opened, and the ramp slid smoothly out. Quickly his eight heavily armed marines moved outside and set up a loose defensive perimeter around the raptor. After a few minutes of observation with their night vision goggles, they were certain that no Cylon Centurions were in the area.

Several marines then removed the special camouflage netting from a small storage bin in the raptor. In just a few minutes, the raptor was covered making it relatively invisible from the air and from detection. Sergeant Rush inspected the camouflage netting carefully making sure his men had done everything properly. He was satisfied the raptor was now properly concealed.

Major Sarah Wells stepped out of the raptor and looked cautiously around. With the overcast sky above, it was nearly pitch dark. She could see very little. This was her mission. Since she was from Picon Admiral Clements had chosen her to lead it. She was also going to try to infiltrate the holding facility if possible. They wanted to gather as much information as possible on just what the Cylons were trying to do with all those young people. She paused for a moment letting old memories drift through her mind. It had been several years since she had actually been home. The feeling of being back on Picon was strange under the circumstances. She just wished the situation were different. For now, Picon held to many bad and sad memories. Her parents and her sister had died here during the Cylon attack.

"Everything is secure Major," Sergeant Rush reported walking up to her and interrupting her thoughts. "I have sent out two patrols to check the immediate area for Cylon activity but I don't think we will find any. From our earlier scans, the Centurions stay pretty close to the compound."

"Very well Sergeant," Sarah replied holding her heavy assault rifle loosely in her hands. "Be prepared to move out at first light. I want to get to the holding facility as soon as possible and begin our observations."

"Yes Major," Sergeant Rush replied, then turning he vanished into the darkness to check on his marines.

It was late morning when Sarah, Susan, Sergeant Rush, and four of his marines made it to the perimeter of the holding compound. Sarah had brought Susan along because she was still young enough to get into the compound and not arouse the Cylon's suspicions. They had taken up a position on a small tree covered hill that overlooked part of the massive compound. In the distance beyond the compound, they could see one of Picon's large oceans. The compound was about two miles inland from the dark blue water's edge.

Sarah was currently scanning the compound with a set of powerful binoculars that actually allowed her to zoom in on the individual faces of the captives. She was amazed and saddened by all the young innocent faces she saw. What the frak were the Cylons doing with all of these kids! Lords of Kobol, she hoped they weren't being used for experimentation by the Cylons. She had heard reports that the Cylons had experimented on humans toward the end of the first Cylon war. Some of the reports had been very gruesome.

"It looks like they have Centurions patrolling the perimeter at regular intervals," Sergeant Rush reported quietly as he scanned the perimeter of the compound, carefully checking out its defenses.

He had a small map that he was making marks on indicating Cylon positions and patrols. Another one of his marines was carefully photographing and recording on video everything that the Sergeant felt was important. Frak, Sergeant Rush thought the compound was not even fenced in! It was comprised of a series of small and large buildings spread out over about eight kilometers of land. Some were obviously dormitories, but he was not certain what the purpose of some of the others were. It almost looked like a combination of military barracks and a small university.

"There are also Centurions stationed in front of the entrances of all the buildings and patrolling the streets," Sergeant Rush commented to Sarah pointing out some of the Centurions that were in view. "While there may not be perimeter fences up, just the number of Centurions on guard duty makes escape impractical."

Nodding, Sarah continued to scan the faces of the young men and women in the compound. From just their current position on the small tree covered hill, she could see what looked like thousands of young people. Some were standing in subdued groups talking; others were sitting on benches with frightened looks upon their faces. Others were going to and from various buildings as if on some type of business.

"We will make a slow circle of the compound Sergeant. I want everything photographed, recorded, and the Cylon positions marked," Sarah ordered laying down the binoculars. "When we come back to rescue these civilians, we need to hold the civilian casualties down, and the information we are gathering on this mission is our only hope to do so!" That worried Sarah. The way the Cylon Centurions were interspersed with the civilians, it might be very difficult to limit the number of casualties in a firefight. The rescue could be very messy and dangerous!

For two more days, they slowly circled the large compound. Pulling back slightly when they needed to rest, but continually gathering information on the Cylon positions and the buildings in the compound. Sarah was scanning one of the last sections, before they were to withdraw back to the raptor, when Sergeant Rush heard her gasp with surprise and shock.

Sergeant Rush looked over at the Major wondering what had surprised her so. She seemed to be frozen in her position not moving. He could see that she was gazing intently into her binoculars. He wondered just what it was she had found. With concern, he could see that her hands were starting to tremble slightly.

Sarah pressed the zoom on her binoculars finding it hard to stop her hands from trembling. She needed to get a close up of the young girl she had just spotted. As the face came clearly into view, Sarah felt chills run up her back and her heart fluttered. The young girl in her view was her 16-year-old sister Kathryn! Not only that, but sitting next to her on the bench, was her 17-year-old cousin Constance!

"Sergeant Rush my sister is here, not only that but my cousin Constance is with her," Sarah said in shock as she laid down the binoculars and rolled over on her back closing her eyes. "I thought they were all dead!"

Sergeant Rush was quiet as he digested this surprising development.

"What do you want to do Major?" he asked slowly, looking down at the compound.

From their current position, he could see several Centurions patrolling the perimeter of the compound. They had not planned on any type of rescue operation, even though they had brought civilian clothing for both Sarah and Susan if they needed to go into the camp to check it out. He would support whatever the Major decided.

"Sergeant Rush I can't leave them here," Sarah said slowly as she rolled back over and gazed down anxiously toward the compound. She knew that she could be putting her career on the line with this decision. "That's my sister and cousin in there."

Sergeant Rush paused for a moment before replying. "Let's go get them! That's your family! We can take out the two Centurions nearest us with the silencers on our weapons. If you and Susan want to go in an attempt a rescue that will give you about 20 minutes before the Centurions are discovered missing by the next patrol."

Susan had listened quietly through all of this, she fully understood Sarah's dilemma. She had felt the same way about her parents when she had under went their rescue. She was ready to attempt the rescue if Sarah gave the word. She understood how important family was, especially now days!

"I'm willing Major," Susan said looking at Sarah with determination in her eyes. "Let's go get them! They will know everything that is going on in that compound and that will be of immense value. That alone justifies the risk."

Forty minutes later Kathryn felt surprised as a young woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, sat down on the bench beside her and Constance. This was someone she didn't know. For months now, she and Constance had come to this bench to talk and comfort each other. Each day they had felt relieved at seeing one another. Every day numerous others vanished as the Cylons ran their tests and experiments. Both knew that some day soon, one of the other would not show up at the bench. Then the other would truly be alone.

Looking straight ahead the young woman addressed Kathryn in a calm reassuring voice. "Kathryn don't act surprised or look at me," she said evenly. "Constance the same goes for you. This is very important if you want to get out of here."

"Who are you," Kathryn stammered surprised at the women's words. You couldn't escape the compound. If you tried, the Cylons would only hunt you down. Everyone knew that! During the early days, many had tried but none had succeeded. They had all been hunted down and brutally killed by the Cylon Centurions. "The Cylons will kill us if we try to escape!"

"My name is Lieutenant Susan James of the Colonial military. I am here with your sister Major Sarah Wells."

"My sister!" Kathryn said shocked looking quickly at Susan forgetting momentarily the instructions not to look. "That can't be possible, my sister is dead!"

What was this women trying to do, was this some type of Cylon trick! Some type of insane test the Cylons had dreamed up to trick her and Constance. Besides that Sarah was not in the military, she was a freighter pilot on the mining colony Sidon, which surely had been destroyed in the Cylon attack.

"No trick Kathryn, but we must move quickly," Susan replied looking carefully around, making sure she knew where all the Cylon Centurions were. "In order to get into the compound, we had to take out a couple of Cylon guards; they will notice the Centurions are missing shortly. Stand up and look at the building directly behind us. On the left side you will see Sarah standing. I want you and Constance to walk over to her as if nothing is out of the ordinary. This is very important. You must follow her and not let on that anything is going on, don't speak to her, don't say anything, that can come later. Now both of you stand up and look at the building and then start walking," Susan ordered hoping the two young girls would understand her instructions.

Kathryn and Constance both slowly stood up. Kathryn looked at the building and felt suddenly faint as she saw her sister Sarah standing there looking at her. With a slight nod, Sarah acknowledged her presence. The two girls slowly began walking toward the building, as they got closer; Sarah turned and began walking away with the two following close behind.

Susan trailed the three keeping watch to make sure that the Cylons hadn't noticed anything. So far, everything was going according to plan. If they were detected, they would have no choice but to run for it. They hadn't dared bring a weapon into the compound.

After a few minutes, they reached the perimeter, and after checking to make sure everything was clear, the four stepped into the trees that surrounded the compound. Once out of sight of the Cylon guards Kathryn literally leaped into Sarah's waiting arms sobbing uncontrollably. "I thought you were dead!" she cried with wet tears rolling down her cheeks. "I thought everyone was dead!"

Sarah held Kathryn for several long moments before replying. "No, I am definitely not dead, but we need to get moving. The Cylons may be after us at any moment." Turning to Constance Sarah asked. "Are you ok Constance?"

"I'm fine Sarah," Constance replied almost afraid to believe they were actually being rescued. Was Sarah really going to be able to rescue them? Kathryn and she had given up any hope of rescue months before. "How are we going to get out of here? The Cylons will be after us shortly. I don't know how but they seem to know when anyone leaves the compound."

"Did the Cylons give you anything to wear," Susan asked suspiciously looking over the two.

"These bracelets," Constance replied showing Susan a small metal bracelet that encircled her wrist. "They said it was for identification purposes."

"We don't have any way to remove them at the moment either," Sarah said worriedly, her mind working rapidly. "I bet they contain some type of tracking device. Let's get farther away from the compound; we can get the bracelets off later."

The four hurried through the trees and it was only a few minutes later that Sarah thought she could here the sounds of pursuit behind them. Frak she thought. We are unarmed, they hadn't dared take weapons into the compound least they be detected. A series of shots rang out, and Susan dropped to the ground grabbing her right shoulder.

"Go on," Susan urged grimacing in pain. "Don't worry about me. Get your sister and Constance to safety. Before Sarah could reply, two Cylon Centurions stepped into view leveling their weapons at the foursome.

So this is it, Sarah thought bracing herself and taking the hands of the two young girls who stood petrified at the sight of the Centurions. It was at that instant the two Cylons dropped to the ground, their heads smashed in from heavy rifle rounds. Sergeant Rush and two of his marines stepped out from behind the trees holding their heavy assault rifles with their silencers attached.

"Thought you might need some help," Rush said smiling. One of the marines rushed over and helped Susan slowly to her feet. Rush walked over and checked the two Centurions making sure they were non-functional. Each had a large hole through its head and its central computer core. These two were done for.

A few moments later, they had the bracelets off the two girls, using a cutting tool that Sergeant Rush was carrying. After tossing the bracelets as far as they could, they began hurrying toward the waiting raptor and safety.

A few hours later, the raptor was landing on the Warstar Olympia. Sarah and the two girls had been talking non-stop since they had made it safely to the raptor. Sarah had been telling the two girls all about her job on the Sidon, their escape to safety, and what had transpired on Caprica.

As the girls stepped out of the raptor, Kathryn sighed holding onto Sarah's hand. "I only wished David had made it," she said sadly gazing into Sarah's eyes. "He would have been so proud of you!"

"Who said I didn't make it," David said stepping around the corner of the raptor with a big smile on his face. Captain Sims had radioed Commander Wells about their surprising passengers as soon as the raptor had jumped to the Olympia's position.

With a loud girlish scream Kathryn let go of Sarah's hand and leaped into David's waiting arms hugging him as if she would never let go. "David, it's really you!" she cried not believing that Sarah and David were both here.

"Yes, it's really me," he said laughing. "Why don't the four of us go to my quarters and we can discuss everything that's happened."

Sergeant Rush watched the small group leave with a distant pleased smile on his face. A family reunited. He remembered how Susan had looked when she had found her parents still alive. Even with all the disaster and death that had occurred over the past year, it made him feel good to know that good and surprising things could still happen.

He turned as two of his marines brought Susan off the raptor on a stretcher. Her shoulder had been bandaged to stop the bleeding and they were taking her to the ship's med center for further treatment. The wound had been a shallow one and she should recover without a problem. With the information they had gotten, and what the two girls should be able to tell them, the mission had gone over with great success. Sergeant Rush was pretty certain that Admiral Clements would be quite pleased with what they had accomplished.

A few minutes later the Olympia and its two escorting Defender Class Gunstars jumped away in flashes if white light. They were on their way back to the Andorian Nebula and safety, to make their report to Admiral Clements.

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**HIGH CAPRICA ORBIT**

James Cavil scanned the latest reports in the information stream from Picon where the human captives were being held. Both on the surface as well as on the moon Celeen 2. Four Cylon Centurions had been destroyed and what they believed to be a human controlled raptor had been spotted leaving the planet. The scans had not been positive about the raptor, but to James there was no doubt.

James smiled as the first part of his trap fell into place, this had gone much easier then he had thought. He really hadn't had to do anything. The humans knew about the compound on Picon! They would be compelled to launch a rescue mission. After all, they couldn't abandon almost a quarter of a million human children! When they did, he would spring his trap.

Already orders had been passed to plant nuclear charges in both the compound on Picon and on the moon Celeen 2. They could all be detonated at his command. The human fleet would be pulled into a trap they could not escape! Once it was committed to the rescue, he would spring the trap and the surviving human ships would be destroyed. Once that was accomplished, he could finish the destruction of the Colonies, particularly the resistance movement on Caprica. Yes, the end of the human race was in sight!

He placed his hands in the data stream and frowned in aggravation. His brother John had jumped both the Hub and the Colony out of communication range. Worse, the resurrection function was now nonfunctional. Without subspace communication with the Hub, the resurrection downloads wouldn't work. He had dispatched a Basestar toward the Hubs last known location. The Basestar had instructions to inform John that if the Hub was not moved back immediately, the Human form Cylons would have no choice but to vacate the Colonies. Centurions would remain, but no human form Cylons would be risked in open battle.

**DAY 290**

**SIDON COLONY**

David, Sarah, Kathryn, and Constance were in a small restaurant in the heart of Sidon City. Kathryn and Constance both had looks of amazement on their faces as they looked around the busy restaurant. The four had spent most of the day just touring Sidon city, taking in the sights, and just enjoying each other's company.

"It's almost like being back home," Kathryn said as she took a small bite of the food on her plate. "It seems so hard to believe that things are so normal here. Just look at all the people here in this restaurant; you would never know what the Cylons have done. We thought everything was gone!"

"I know Kathryn," Sarah said reaching out her hand and placing it comfortingly on her sister's. "We all need this sense of normalcy to keep us going, to remind us of what we are fighting for. Sidon city and the other asteroid colonies we are building will give us that. A safe place to fall back to, a place to relax, a place to forget the war for a time when we need to."

"The other asteroid colony cities will even be larger then Sidon City," David added with a carefree smile. It had been a long time since he had felt this relaxed and content. He had his family back together!

"Will we ever be able to go back to Picon, to go back home?" Constance asked looking gravely at the two adults. She wondered what had happened to her parents. Kathryn and she had been away at school when the Cylons had attacked. They hadn't been able to get back home to check on their parents before they were captured by the Cylons.

"Someday perhaps," David replied slowly taking a sip of tea from the large glass in front of him. "It may take us a while, but some day we will all be able to return home. Admiral Clements won't rest until the Colonies are free again."

The four were silent for a long moment as they thought about how Picon used to be, what their homes used to be like. All that was gone now, destroyed in the ruthless Cylon attack, but in the back of each of their minds, they still wondered what had happened to their other family members. Had any survived, were they even now hiding somewhere on Picon awaiting rescue. A rescue they could never know whether it was coming or not.

"Admiral Clements has given us a full week to relax here in Sidon City," David said leaning back and stretching. "We have reservations at the Sidon Hotel and Suites; it's one of the nicest in the city."

"Admiral Clements makes me nervous," Kathryn replied with an uneasy smile. "He seems so important, and I can't see how he handles all the responsibility he has."

"The Admiral is a good man at heart," David replied with a relaxing smile. "We need his strength and leadership to take this war to the Cylons."

"We know that from what everyone has said," Constance replied. "But when he and the others were asking all those questions about our captivity, it made us realize that we had left a lot of people behind, some were very close friends. Is the Admiral going to be able to do anything about them? People vanish from that compound everyday!"

David and Sarah looked at each other, not sure how to reply. "He will try," Sarah answered looking at the two concerned young girls. "The Admiral will leave no one behind if he can help it. If I know the Admiral he will attempt a rescue as soon as possible!"

"Admiral Clements also has several other Admirals and Generals to help him, the Cylons left a lot of good people alive," David broke in speaking thoughtfully. "Between them, they will come up with a plan."

Sarah looked at the two girls knowing that it would be quite some time before they got over the stresses of their captivity. She had already arranged for someone to meet regularly with both of them, but they were young and should be able to cope. "You know Sidon City has some really nice shopping malls!"

"Shopping malls!" both girls said in unison their eyes lighting up.

"Holy Kobol," David muttered rolling his eyes in mock exasperation. "Are you three going to drag me to the malls on top of everything else?"

Sarah smiled back sweetly. "Of course David. Did you honestly think that three women who had an entire week of free time wouldn't hit the malls?"

The two girls began to talk excitedly asking how big the malls were, what stores were in them, and more importantly how much could they spend? It had been months since they had been able to go shopping. Their entire world seemed to be suddenly opening back up.

"We both need new clothes," Kathryn stated looking expectantly at David, her eyes taking on that pleading puppy dog look. "You can't expect us to wear the same two or three outfits every day!"

"Well I definitely feel my bank account going down," David said glumly knowing this was a battle he couldn't win. Not that he really wanted to. He was glad to see the girls were finally excited about something. "I think we are all entitled to a shopping spree, first thing in the morning we will hit the malls. I think my bank account can handle a new outfit or two."

Sarah smiled knowingly to herself. Was David in for a surprise. She knew that an outfit or two wasn't going to satisfy the two girls. This was going to be a lot of fun!

**CONFERENCE ROOM**

**BATTLESTAR AURORA**

Admiral Clements, General Collins, General Abramson, and Admiral Reynolds were in the conference room of the Battlestar Aurora reviewing the information and photographs that the recon mission on Picon had generated. Admiral Stockwell was currently with BSG 9 on patrol over Caprica.

"I just don't like it," General Abramson said shaking his head and pointing to a photo of several Centurions. "The entire compound is heavily guarded with Centurions covering all the major buildings, the perimeter, and interspersed with the civilians." He paused weighing his next words carefully. "We can take the compound, but there will be a lot of civilian casualties when the bullets start flying. Not only that, but there are major flak batteries located on some of those taller buildings that we are going to have to take out. This is going to be a messy operation no matter how we go about it."

"I agree," General Collins added with a heavy frown as he studied a photo of two heavily armed Centurions standing guard in front of one of the buildings. "From the scans, photos, and from what the two girls have told us, I would estimate that there are still close to 230,000 captives in that compound. We estimate that there are about 1,500 Centurions serving as guards, and who knows how many held back in reserve. In any kind of major assault we could lose maybe ten to twenty percent of the captives."

"At the moment the Cylons have six Basestars and four Support Ships in orbit," Admiral Reynolds went on drumming his fingers on the conference table as he thought. "They are covering both the compound on Picon and the compounds on Celeen Two." Admiral Reynolds paused. "We can handle the ships in orbit and hold the planet and the moon long enough to complete the operation, but I just have a bad feeling about this. The Cylons have to know that we know about those captives, they might be sitting a trap for us. That's what I would do if I was them."

"Once I commit the Assaultstars and start landing troops, we will be vulnerable from an attack from orbit," General Abramson continued frowning worriedly. "If I were the Cylons, I would wait until the Assaultstars are committed and the first troops are landing. That's when I would spring my trap!"

"If they have ships in position that can jump in when the ground operations begin, they will have us pinned against the moon and the planet," Admiral Reynolds picked up the conversation. "We would be forced to hold our position and slug it out until the ground operations are either completed or terminated, depending on the size of the Cylon force we could lose some ships."

Admiral Clements thought for several moments, he had the inklings of a plan but it would take time to work out all the details. "Once we commit ourselves there will be no turning back," he said tapping his index finger on the table. "We will have only one opportunity to rescue these people, if we fail there is no doubt in my mind that the Cylons will terminate their operations and execute all the remaining captives. We can't fail! The Cylons don't know our real ship strength; perhaps it's time to set a trap for the trappers. We can let them shut their trap and then jump in with our main fleet. We can then pin them between our fleets and perhaps cause them some real damage. Let the trappers become the trapped!"

"Perhaps," Admiral Reynolds said worriedly knowing how complex this operation was becoming. "But remember they still have a really large fleet. If they commit a major portion of it, we could suffer some serious losses ourselves. Even if we commit the main part of our fleet, we could still be seriously out numbered. Somehow we need to make sure that can't happen."

"We know that they have to keep a major fleet at Caprica, or risk us taking over the entire planet," Admiral Clements responded standing up and walking up to a large view screen that was focused currently on the Sidon colony. Turning he faced his fellow officers. "Other Cylon fleet units will be tied down covering their Centurion forces on the other Colonies; they can't afford to risk us attacking another Colony at this time. What we need to do is launch an operation that forces them to disperse some of the rest of their fleet. If we can force the Cylons to send some of their ships away from the Colonies, it will reduce the number of ships they have available that can be used against us."

"A series of raids against some of their known outposts and bases," Admiral Reynolds suggested thoughtfully. "Perhaps even making brief appearances over the other Colonies as if we are scouting them out for future attacks. If we start hitting them a few weeks before our attack, it might force them to respond by using part of their fleet to protect them."

"We know from message intercepts that approximately one quarter of their fleet is off after the Galactica, another quarter is out chasing this other unknown civilian and military fleet that headed off in the direction of the Delta Quadrant. We also know that the bases they call the Hub and the Colony have both moved out of range of Cylon communication," Admiral Clements stated running over the information they had learned from Cylon communication intercepts. "We know from our own Cylon captives, that the Hub controls their ability to download and resurrect, this might give us an advantage. The Cylons might hesitate about risking major casualties at this time if their resurrection technology isn't working!"

"Mike Patterson and Governor Anderlen report that the New Haven colony will be fully operational in another 45 to 50 days," General Collins commented looking over a report before him. "Agro 1 will be ready 20 to 30 days after that. When those two colonies are completed, we will have the room to handle the people on Celeen 2 and Picon."

"That's our time line then," Admiral Clements stated coming to a decision. "We launch our rescue missions in 50 to 60 days. Admiral Reynolds I want you to set up some hit and run raids on the Cylons beginning in two weeks. General Collins and General Abramson work up a rescue plan that will hold casualties down. I don't want to talk about acceptable civilian casualties, but keep in mind that the Cylons are killing some of those civilians daily. We need to rescue as many as possible. Work up a plan."

**DAY 310**

Sarah, Mathew, David, and Cindy were in Sidon City for a final night of relaxation. Tomorrow they would depart on a series of hit and run attacks against the Cylons. They were at one of the nicer restaurants known for its good food and outstanding entertainment.

"How are Kathryn and Constance doing?" Mathew asked looking at Sarah with curiosity in his eyes. Sarah had been much more open about things since the rescue of her sister and cousin. He had been very pleased and surprised when Sarah had suggested this night out. Sometimes he didn't know what to expect from her.

"They are adjusting very well," Sarah replied with a small smile. She could still remember very well all the fun and excitement the girls had at the malls, right after their rescue. David was still complaining about the cubits the girls had spent. "I found them a small apartment here in Sidon City in an apartment complex. A lot of young people who have lost their families are staying there as well. It's well supervised and we can visit them whenever we want."

"How did they take learning that they had to start back to school?" Cindy asked as she took her foot and gently massaged David's leg suggestively under the table with a mischievous grin.

"They were surprised, to say the least," David replied trying to keep a straight face as Cindy's foot moved farther up his leg. "They start back next week."

"I was over at Agro 1 earlier today," Mathew said looking at Sarah. "You can't believe what they have done over there. One of the agro levels is already completed and has been completely planted to crops, while we haven't yet had to ration food; it's nice to know that with the completion of that colony we will have a good stable food supply."

Sarah finished draining her glass of ambrosia and then heard one of her favorite songs being played by the band. She hadn't heard this song in ages, not since she had last been on Picon visiting her parents. Standing up she grabbed Mathew's hand. "Let's dance."

Moments later the two were out on the dance floor in each other's arms as the music flowed around them. Mathew was highly aware of the softness of Sarah's body as he held her close. Her body seemed to mold itself to his as they slowly moved across the dance floor. Looking up into his eyes, she said softly. "Anything you want tonight Mathew, this night is ours." She turned her lips toward his and both were soon lost in a long passionate kiss.

David and Cindy watched surprised from their table. "About time," Cindy said smiling with a twinkle in her eyes. "Those two have had the hots for each other for years. Now David," she said coyishly, her eyes shifting to his. "What about you and me, you're not going to let me sleep alone tonight are you?"

With a smile, David slid into the seat next to hers and the two were soon lost in a long deep kiss oblivious to everyone and everything around them.

**DAY 312**

Battle Group 1 slid slowly into position just outside of the large gas giant planet in the Kenobia System. The ships were just above the thick storm swept atmosphere of the planet, where Cylon scans should not be able to detect them. Information from two of the Cylons back at the Sidon colony had indicated that this was a major supply base for the Cylons. Scans from stealth raptors sent to investigate had confirmed the presence of a large Cylon base on the second moon of the fourth planet out from the system's sun.

There were also two small space stations in close orbit above the moon. Commander Marcus Tyler of the Mercury Class Battlestar Canopus studied the readouts carefully. In addition to the Canopus, he had the Columbia Two Class Battlestar Pandora, the two Warstars Olympia and Rigel, as well as four Gunstars under his command.

"Scans from our raptors show one Support Ship in orbit of the moon," his Exec Colonel Windrow reported. "There are several raiders out on patrol but nothing that looks worrisome. I don't believe they are expecting an attack."

"Why would they be, the Cylons have to be thinking we are conserving our remaining ships," Commander Tyler responded as he studied the updated information being displayed on the operation's table with keen eyes. "The Canopus and the two Warstars will jump in and take out the Support Ship. The Pandora and the four Gunstars will stay back in reserve. Combat jump in ten minutes."

Aboard the Olympia, Commander David Wells waited as the FTL drives spun back up. The crew was ready at their stations; anticipation filled the air of the CIC. This was the first in a series of four carefully planned raids the small fleet would be committed to over the next several weeks. Another fleet of equal size and power would also be hitting the Cylons over the same time period. Hopefully the two-pronged attack would keep the Cylons off balance and force them to disperse some of their fleet to protect their bases.

"Combat jump in two minutes," his Exec reported as the execute time neared. "Mega pulse laser will begin charging at the end of jump."

The two minutes passed slowly and then David felt the queasiness in his stomach that signified the jump. Everything blurred briefly and time seemed to stretch out toward infinity, and then everything blinked back to normal in an instant.

"Combat jump complete," the Exec reported. "Pulse laser charging, all other weapon systems coming back on line."

Aboard the Canopus, Commander Tyler nodded as the Dradis screen cleared and he saw that all three ships were in the positions they were supposed to be in. "Launch viper squadrons," he ordered. "Olympia and Rigel are to engage and destroy the Support Ship."

In the launch tube, Major Sarah Wells felt herself pushed back into her cockpit seat as the viper raced down the launch tube and out into space. All three of her squadrons had been assigned to the Canopus for this operation and she planned on it being a textbook action for her pilots. As soon as she was clear of the launch tube, she keyed her com to her pilots. "All squadrons form up into a defensive cap around the Canopus."

In moments, the three squadrons were in position to defend the might Battlestar from Cylon raiders. The Canopus's own squadrons were launching now and taking up an attack position. They were going to hit the two small space stations in orbit above the moon.

Aboard the Olympia, Commander Wells watched carefully as the warship closed with its Cylon target, with the Rigel trailing slightly behind in support. All ready the Cylon Support Ship was in the process of launching raiders as they detected the inbound Colonial ships.

"Cylon communication channels are active," the communication's officer reported as she monitored the regular radio waves as well as the subspace frequencies.

"MPL charged and ready to fire on your command," the Exec reported.

"Helm bring us about twenty two degrees and bring our bow up on target. Communications order the Rigel to watch out for those raiders and to follow us in," Major Wells ordered as he set up his attack run.

"Target locked," the tactical officer reported.

"Fire!" David commanded his eyes now glued to the main view screen, which showed the Cylon Support Ship. The Cylon Support Ship with its twin discs connected by a short thick center column looked massive on the screen.

A brilliant beam of blue red energy leaped away from the Olympia to strike the Cylon Support ship striking the lower disc. The deadly beam cut deep into its target setting off explosions and blasting a huge hole in the side of the ship. The Support Ship reeled from the attack as the lower disc began to break apart. On the main view screen, David could see secondary explosions rocking the Cylon ship.

"Secondary beams in range," the Exec reported listening to the tactical officer over his mini com.

"Fire!" David commanded curious to see what kind of effect these smaller beams would have on the Cylon ship.

Instantly the two twin pulse laser batteries begin to fire on the Support Ship striking the upper section of the Cylon ship. Wherever the twin beams hit, explosions, and fire encompassed the target.

Aboard the Canopus, Commander Tyler watched the main view screen as the Support Ship was almost casually blasted apart by the Olympia.

"That's the first time I have actually seen a MPL beam hit a target," Colonel Windrow said amazed at the damage the Olympia was causing to the Support Ship in so short a time. He had barely gotten the words out when the Olympia's main MPL fired a second time, obliterating the Cylon Support Ship completely. All that remained was a slowly expanding cloud of burning gas and debris.

"They only managed to launch about two squadrons of raiders," Colonel Windrow reported as he read the Dradis scans. Both squadrons are headed toward us."

"Order Major Wells to intercept," Commander Tyler ordered his Exec. "Set up our defensive batteries for a suppression barrage if needed."

Sarah watched carefully as her three squadrons closed with the approaching Cylons. For once, they had them outnumbered. "Blue and Red squadrons you are free to engage," Sarah ordered. "Black squadron will stay in reserve between the Cylon raiders and the Canopus."

In moments, the squadrons were engaged in a close quarter dogfight with vipers and raiders weaving intricate patterns interlaced with cannon fire and an occasional missile. Sarah and Mathew were just above and behind the fight where they could watch the squadrons in action.

"All vipers watch your tails, the Cylons are trying to triple team you with a pinwheel formation. Don't get separated from your wingman!" Sarah warned as she saw several of her pilots out of position. Several moments later, she saw one of the wayward vipers wiped from her screen followed moments later by the second.

"Frak!" Sarah exclaimed in anger as she punched her turbos and headed for the fight followed closely by Mathew.

No matter how much you practiced in the simulators real combat was not the same! With almost mechanical ease, she dropped her viper in behind three Cylon raiders and launched two interceptor missiles blowing two of them from space in bright flaming fireballs.

Mathew quickly took out the other using one of his own missiles. In the space of just a few minutes, Sarah and Mathew took our six Cylon raiders between them.

"I got two," an elated Lieutenant Cindy Everett bragged over the com. "Going for my third!"

"Just watch it Lieutenant Everett," her squadron commander, Captain Adam Taggert warned over the com. "Don't get to cocky!" He had scarcely gotten the words out when he saw another Cylon raider fall to Cindy's precise cannon fire and flying. Damn she's good, he thought.

"I might be in trouble," a worried voice came moments later over the com. I have three Cylon raiders on my tail and I can't shake them. These three are very good! They're getting closer!"

"Hold on Cindy we're coming," Sarah said as she hit her emergency turbos and blasted her viper toward Cindy, leaving Mathew far behind.

Mathew was following with his turbos but he didn't have the power Sarah did in her larger Command Viper. He wasn't going to get there in time. Sarah however just might. It would be close!

As Sarah closed rapidly on Cindy's position, she could see the younger pilot was in a lot of trouble. The three Cylon raiders had her bracketed and whichever way she turned she came under heavy Cylon fire. Sarah could already see that Cindy's viper had been hit several times, as what looked like fuel or smoke was coming from the port side of her engine. She could see no sign of Cindy's wingman.

"Just a few more moments Cindy I'm almost there," Sarah pleaded as she dropped her viper in behind one of the raiders.

A quick burst of twenty-millimeter cannon fire and the raider exploded. She heard a loud girlish scream come over the com and Cindy's viper vanished from her Dradis screen. In front of her, she could see an expanding cloud of glowing burning debris that was all that was left of Lieutenant Everett's viper.

"Frak!" Sarah cried in anguish as she let her anger take control. In a few more moments of reckless flying, she angrily blew the other two raiders to pieces with her cannons.

Then she turned back and flew to Cindy's last position where her viper had exploded. Mathew's viper was already there as if he was guarding something. With a feeling of immense relief, Sarah saw on one of her screens that an emergency rescue beacon had been activated. It took her only a few moments to locate Cindy who was floating helplessly in her ejection seat about 40 meters from Mathew.

"Guess I missed one," a frightened Cindy's voice came over the emergency com.

"Yes, I think you did," Sarah replied relieved. Once this was over, she would check and see just why Cindy and her wingman had gotten separated.

Sarah keyed her com and ordered a SAR raptor from the Canopus to Cindy's position. Sarah and Mathew stayed close by to make sure the young pilot stayed safe. Mathew's viper floated to one side of Sarah as they both watched and waited. The fight with the raiders was over. They had taken out over 40 Cylon raiders while loosing six of their own vipers. Counting Cindy, three of the pilots had managed to safely eject when their vipers were destroyed.

Aboard the Canopus, Commander Tyler watched as his attack wings went in against the two small space stations. Both stations were only lightly armed and after just a few minutes both had been reduced to nothing more then two rings of orbiting debris around the small moon. However, from the surface of the planet several heavy raiders were seen rising up and then vanishing as they activated their FTL drives.

"We can expect additional Cylons shortly depending on how far they have to go to summon support," Colonel Windrow commented as he watched the raiders vanish from the Dradis screen. "Their communication channels have been active, but we haven't intercepted any response to their requests for help."

"That's to be expected," Commander Tyler replied nodding his head, we're pretty far out from the Colonies. "We wanted some heavy raiders to escape to spread the word back to the Cylon Command. We will be long gone before any help gets here for these Cylons!"

The Canopus took up a position just above the Cylon base. A very large base covered several kilometers of the moon's surface. There was probably a lot more underground that they could not see or detect.

"I am picking up fuel storage, ammo bunkers, what looks like ship supply depots, and a number of other building we can't positively identify," Colonel Windrow reported looking at the scans which were coming up on a screen next to his position beside the operation's table.

"Very well," Commander Tyler replied knowing these Cylons were now doomed. "Use of nukes is authorized. I want two planetary bombardment missiles planted right in the center of that facility!"

Moments later two mushroom clouds rose above the surface of the small moon totally erasing the Cylon base. Nuclear fire ravaged the base incinerating everything it touched. In less then a minute all that remained were two glowing molten craters of nuclear destruction.

After confirming complete destruction of the Cylon facility, the fleet jumped back to the waiting support ships. Twenty minutes later the entire battle group was gone. They would withdraw to another out of the way system and wait a few days before striking their next target.

Several hours after they had left, two Cylon Basestars appeared over the moon. Quick scans showed that their facility on the moon and the two orbiting space stations had been completed destroyed. The human Cylons on board conferred briefly and then the Basestars jumped back toward Caprica. This attack needed to be reported. They wondered just what the humans could be up to. More supplies and fuel could always be sent from Cylon, it would just take a little bit longer to reach the Colonies.

22


	24. Chapter 24

_Several small errors with names were pointed out that I have went back and corrected. I have a character list for each story, but I slipped up and didn't double check and listed several names incorrectly. Sorry._

**Day 330**

**Planet Demeter**

**Delta Quadrant**

**Mercury Class Battlestar Aires**

Admiral Stone looked at the main view screens, which showed the assembled fleet that was under his command. Commander Davis stood next to him speaking quietly over his mini com ensuring that the fleet was ready for the first jump. The Aires would be the flagship for the combined fleet during this operation. There was an intense air of excitement in the CIC.

"I can't believe we are actually returning to the Colonies," Major Strickland spoke as he checked the Dradis screen one more time. "Do you really think we have a chance to free the Colonies Admiral?"

"If Admiral Clements can continue to hold Caprica and if he possesses the size fleet that I suspect he does, we may very well be able to do it," Admiral Stone replied looking over at Commander Davis's Exec. "We know what happened to the Cylon fleet they sent after us, we also know the condition of their shipyards. That's why we have to go now. Those shipyards should be coming back on line very shortly. Once they begin building new Basestars and Support Ships in mass, we may not have a chance again to retake the Colonies."

The Kobolan ships report ready for the jump Admiral," Commander Davis reported.

The Kobolans were sending five Battle Cruisers and ten Heavy Escort Ships with the fleet, under command of Admiral Crius on Captain Lander's Battle Cruiser Zeus. Admiral Stone was very pleased that the Kobolans had selected Admiral Crius as their fleet Commander. He had worked with the Admiral before and he was very competent and a good leader.

Upon one of the view screens, the 1,500 meter Battle Cruiser Zeus floated in space, her two Heavy Escorts hovering protectively nearby. Clements knew that the Kobolan Battle Cruisers were extremely powerful ships. The Cylons would not like being on the receiving end of the firepower a Kobolan Battle Cruiser represented.

...

_Kobolan Battle Cruisers: Zeus, Apollo, Hera, Hermes, and Poseidon._

**Kobolan Battle Cruiser**

Length 1,500 meters

Width 350 meters

Height 350 meters

6 Heavy bow KEW batteries

6 Bow missile tubes

32 Medium KEW twin turrets encircling the hull

24 Missile tubes. 12 on each side of the ship

198 Twin point defense turrets

64 Twin laser point defense turrets

24 Interceptor missile batteries

Energy shielding

Stealth shielding

Crew of 800

Marines 200

Kobolan Battle Cruisers are designed for three month to six-month deployments. Kobolan ships are also more automated requiring smaller crews. They also don't use fighter craft. They have a small landing bay for shuttles only.

**Kobolan Heavy Escort**

Length 600 meters

Width 175 meters

Height 175 meters

2 Heavy bow KEW batteries

2 Bow missile tubes

8 Medium twin KEW turrets. Four on the upper hull and four on the lower hull

6 Missile tubes. Three on each side of the ship

64 Twin point defense turrets

36 Twin laser point defense turrets

12 Interceptor missile batteries

Energy shielding

Stealth shielding

Crew of 200

Marines 50

...

"What is the readiness of Admiral Reed's Battle Group?" Admiral Stone asked as the ships continued to count down to the jump.

Admiral Reed reports that all four of his Battlestars are ready for the jump with FTL drives spun up," Commander Davis reported as he listened on his mini com.

...

Victory. Valkyrie Class Battlestar Admiral Reed commanding

Independence. Valkyrie Class Battlestar

Dark Search. Valkyrie Class Battlestar

Shrike. Valkyrie Class Battlestar

_All the Valkyries have gone through Kobolan upgrades._

_Improved Tylium reactors capable of generating 40 percent more power._

_Increased sublight acceleration of 22 percent._

_KEW batteries now capable of accelerating a projectile to twelve percent light speed._

_Improved computer-targeting systems._

_Reactive armor strengthened by 300 percent._

_Energy shields._

_Stealth shielding._

_Missile speed increased by 30 percent._

_Thirty twin laser point defense turrets._

_Increased missile warhead yield for both conventional and nuclear ordinance. _

_..._

"Is Admiral Murray ready to jump?" Admiral Stone continued.

"Yes sir," Commander Davis replied as he spoke with the Nichen's Exec over the mini com confirming their readiness to jump. "His Battle Group has their FTL drives spun up and are ready for the jump."

...

Nichen. Warstar Admiral Murray commanding

Titania. Titan Class Command Gunstar

Lodestar. Titan Class Gunstar

Nebula. Titan Class Gunstar

Defiant. Titan Class Gunstar

Eros. Titan Class Gunstar

Erebus. Titan Class Gunstar

Asteria. Titan Class Gunstar

Ophion. Titan Class Gunstar

_All the Titans have been upgraded to Kobolan standards similar to the Valkyries. The only difference is they only have twenty of the twin laser point defense turrets._

_..._

Our own Battle Group?" Admiral Stone spoke looking over at Commander Davis.

"All ships are ready to jump sir," Commander Davis replied.

...

Aires. Mercury Class Battlestar Admiral Jason Stone commanding

Olympia. Jupiter Class Battlestar

Perses. Jupiter Class Battlestar

Styx. Jupiter Class Battlestar

Metis. Jupiter Class Battlestar

Leto. Jupiter Class Battlestar

Silent Seeker. Electronics Surveillance Ship

_The Jupiter Class Battlestars have the same Kobolan upgrades as the Valkyries. In addition, they have 54 twin laser point defense turrets. The Aires has 64._

_The Silent Seeker has been upgraded to Kobolan standards with improved Dradis and powerful sensor arrays._

_..._

"The supply ships?" Admiral Reed finished with the final group of ships.

"All in position and ready to jump," Commander Davis confirmed nodding his head, his eyes moving to the navigation officer whose hand was on the jump key.

**Supply fleet**

Crescent. Colonial fleet tender modified by the Kobolans to repair any ship of the fleet.

Four Tylium tankers

Eight supply ships

One fleet hospital ship

Four fleet supply ships carrying additional munitions

Two marine Assault Ships each carrying 2,500 marines

_All these ships are part of the two original colonization missions and are heavily armed for their own protection. _

_..._

Admiral Stone looked one last time at the main view screen, which was now focused on the large heavily armed shipyard that orbited Demeter. The Firestar Phoebe, two Assault Gunstars, and two Defender Class Gunstars were staying behind to defend Demeter. With the massive orbital defensive grid, which the Kobolans had helped build, Admiral Stone felt certain Demeter would be safe. In addition, two Kobolan Battle Cruisers and four Heavy Escort Ships were also staying at Demeter to ensure the Colonies safety.

"Very well," Admiral Stone nodded satisfied that they were as ready as they ever would be. "Jump in thirty seconds as planned."

"Yes sir," replied Commander Davis who looked over at the navigation officer who had his hand on the jump key.

Admiral Stone stepped away from the operation's table and moved closer to one of the view screens, which showed a close up of Demeter. If you looked close enough, you could see the outlines of the planet's Capitol of Paradeen on the surface. It was dark on this side of the planet and the cities lights were shining brightly. "Just hold on Admiral Clements," Jason spoke quietly hoping he was doing the right thing. "We're coming; I just hope we make it in time."

Admiral Stone heard Commander Davis speak the word jump. Everything dimmed for a moment and time seemed to stretch out to eternity. All the ships of the fleet vanished in flashes of white light as they made their first jump on the long journey home.

_Author's note: I realize this chapter may seem a little disjointed due to the lists of fleet ships and some of the descriptions I have added. I have had several readers e-mail me and ask for this information, so I included it in this short chapter. Most of the information on Kobolan technology can be found in Gunstar Titania in the chapter entitled Negotiations and Alliance._

5


	25. Chapter 25

_Only one chapter this week. I am making a number of changes in the rest of the chapters to take into account some of the changes I have made in the previous chapters. Some of these changes were made due to suggestions from readers and others that I thought would make the story more interesting. There are only about four to six chapters remaining. I have not written the last chapter yet. I know how this is going to end and I promise it will be a very interesting and surprising ending. There are a few major changes I have to make in the next few chapters and I don't want to write the final one until I am sure I have everything set up just like I want._

**DAY 330**

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**HIGH CAPRICA ORBIT**

The Cylon Command Staff was meeting aboard the Cylon Command Basestar currently in high orbit above Caprica. On the main view screens, Caprica was visible below as well as the human fleet that set defiantly at the center of the troublesome Defense Satellites. James Cavil stared with obvious agitation on his face at the others before speaking. "Four attacks on our outer bases in the last eighteen days. Three Support Ships destroyed! Why are the Colonials attacking our bases and why now?"

"This could be the beginning of a new offensive on their part," Mark Conoy replied from where he stood with both hands in the information stream as he studied the data. "From the reports we have received from the heavy raiders that escaped, we have two separate human fleets involved in the attacks."

"Have we identified any of the ships involved?" James demanded irked that the Colonials had chosen this time to attack the bases. Why had Clements survived? He was becoming his nemesis. Nearly half the fleet was gone with John and Darien chasing human survivors across the galaxy. Other ships had been damaged or destroyed in the original attack on the Colonies. Even more ships had been destroyed at the human's secret base, which Darien had attacked before setting off after the survivors of that base. Who knew where they were now. Neither had been heard from for months! Not only that, but John had taken both the Hub and the Colony without consulting him or the other Ones in the Colonies or on Cylon. His fellow human form Cylons at the bases and elsewhere were demanding additional ships to protect them.

"The Battlestars Canopus and Caprica seem to be the flagships of the two fleets," Melissa (8) replied. "The two Warstars Olympia and Athena have both been positively identified as well. The Olympia with the Canopus fleet and the Athena with the Caprica fleet. They are the two Warstars that have been equipped with the MPL weapon that is being used against us. There are also several other unidentified Warstars, possibly two Columbia Two Class Battlestars, and a small number of Gunstars."

"This new MPL weapon is much more powerful then the ones used at the start of the first war with the humans," Simon commented frowning. "Our ship's armor is not thick enough to withstand it."

"These two ships are not being left nearly powerless after firing their MPL like earlier versions of the weapon the Colonials and we deployed in the first war," Lisa (6) commented. "I believe they are testing this new weapon in these attacks upon our bases."

"They are using fleets that are just large enough to take out our bases with minimal losses to themselves, but not large enough to take on one of our major fleets," Simon commented concerned at this new tactic of the Colonials. This was one of the reasons why they had taken such pains in the original attack to eliminate all the commanding Admirals and Generals. As Cylons, they just didn't have the military training the Colonial commanding officers had. "What can their purpose be? We can easily replace what they are destroying."

"Yes but it will take time to rebuild and resupply those bases," LeAnna Biers spoke. "They are also destroying our Support Ships that are guarding these facilities. Need I remind all of you, that after what that mysterious Colonial Battlestar Group did to our shipyards back home, we don't have the shipbuilding capacity that we once did!"

"Not only that we can only build a few more Basestars," Lisa (6) added staring accusingly at James. "Without the Colony, we can't create any more hybrids to operate new Basestars!"

"We have enough!" James flared back in anger his eyes narrowing. "I have already ordered that all new Support Ships are to be more heavily armed. I have ordered heavy KEW batteries and more defensive weapons to be installed."

"Why weren't we consulted about that?" Melissa (8) demanded. "You can't order changes in our ship designs without a consensus!"

"It was necessary," James replied glaring at Melissa (8). "We must have more powerful Support Ships at our disposal until the Colony returns."

"We wouldn't have this problem if John hadn't moved the Colony in the first place," Lisa pointed out her eyes meeting James's. "The Colony should never have been moved in the first place or the Hub!"

"There is nothing we can do about that now," James replied his anger seething staring at Lisa. "We must work with what we have available, and quit crying over the past! We will have to make due until the Colony returns. The new shipyards are coming on line, and they will be building the new and more powerful Support Ships as I ordered!"

"We need to worry about what the Colonials are up to," Simon interrupted changing the subject. "There has to be a reason behind these attacks."

"Can they be trying to draw our remaining fleet out?" Lisa asked staring at James daring him to say something. She was getting very tired of the Ones arrogance. The Ones had urged them into this ill-fated war, much to the dismay of the Sixes and Eights. "They may want us to disperse our forces to protect our bases so they can attack us elsewhere."

"Perhaps," James replied turning away from Lisa and looking over at Simon. "We know that they are aware of our captives on Picon and probably those that are on Celeen 2. This could be an attempt to get us to spread out our forces before they launch an attack against those facilities to try to rescue the captives."

"What is the current estimate of the fleet that the Colonials still have?" Simon asked.

Melissa placed her hands in the information stream scanning for the data. "From what we have been able to determine from the attacks on Caprica, Ragnar Anchorage, the Colonial Fleet currently above Caprica, and the assaults on our bases. We estimate that the surviving Colonial Fleet consists of 3 Mercury Class Battlestars, 1 Jupiter Class Battlestar, 8 Columbia Two Class Battlestars, 1 Valkyrie Class Battlestar, Four Warstars, 10 Gunstars, 2 Assaultstars, an unknown number of Marine Assault Ships, and an unknown number of Escortstars."

"That many!" Simon said surprised his eyes widening. "How did that many ships escape our initial attack?"

"The majority of those ships came from the Boneyards," Kelvin Doral stated looking over at James. "Evidently Admiral Clements reached the Boneyards immediately after our attack and probably stripped it of every useable ship he could take that was FTL capable."

"So we don't know for sure just how large a fleet he really has?" LeAnna Biers asked with concern and worry in her voice. "He could have more ships that we haven't seen yet."

"He can't have too many more ships or he would have used them at Caprica," James replied with an angry frown. "In the attacks upon Caprica and Ragnar Anchorage he had to have used the majority of the ships at his disposal. He probably left a small fleet back at his base, which we still have not been able to locate."

"So we are facing approximately 20 capital ships plus escorts," Mark Conoy muttered unhappily.

"We still have nearly 100 capital ships still at our disposal and a huge advantage in raiders and heavy raiders," James replied angrily wishing his fellow Cylons had more faith in the Plan. "If we can force Clement's fleet into an engagement we can destroy it! We will overwhelm his ships with our raiders just like we did Admiral Nagala at Virgon."

"But how do we do that?" Lisa asked she was beginning to distrust nearly everything that James or the other Ones said. "They can attack us anywhere. If we attack them with a force capable of defeating them, they will just jump away and flee back to their hidden base."

"The humans are keeping a fleet here at Caprica at all times," James replied with a savage smile gesturing toward the view screen, which showed the Colonial ships. "We are going to mine the human enclaves on Picon and Celeen 2 with nuclear charges."

"With nuclear charges," Melissa stammered shocked. "How can you do such a thing?"

"Because it will pin down the rest of Admiral Clement's ships!" James replied. "We will keep a fleet of 20 Basestars and at least 20 Support Ships just outside of detection range of the Picon system. That will still give us enough ships to cover the other Colonies as well as Caprica from a surprise attack. When the humans attempt a rescue of our human captives, and they will, we will wait until they have landed marines and committed themselves to the operation. Once that has occurred, we will set off the nuclear charges eliminating the captives and the majority of the marines that have landed. We will jump into the system with our fleet and hit them while they are trying to extricate their surviving marine forces from their failed landing operations. They will be forced to commit their precious fleet to cover the extrication of those ground forces."

Pausing for a moment, he continued. "The attacks on our support bases, while not a major set back are still a problem. Order extra raider squadrons to be assigned to all of our bases. Double the number of Support Ships at all major bases to ensure they are adequately protected. Put extra raider squadrons out on patrol. With the extra raiders and Support Ships, that should limit the human attacks. I don't want any Basestars committed to this; they are to be held back for the main operation at Picon."

"I don't know if I like the idea of using nuclear charges on the Picon enclave," Lisa objected with concern on her face, then warningly. "If we fail to destroy the human fleet and are responsible for ruthlessly wiping out so many of their remaining young people, their anger will be unrelenting."

"I agree," Melissa added looking at James challengingly. "As long as those young humans are alive, we have a bargaining chip we can use if we ever need it."

"Frak the humans," Cavil exploded angrily, what was wrong with the Sixes and Eights, why were they always questioning his decisions. "Do you think they will ever forgive us for wiping out nearly fifty billion of their people! What does a few hundred thousand more mean? No, this is an opportunity to destroy their fleet or at the very least destroy enough of their remaining fleet so that they will never again be a threat to us!"

The other Cylons in the room agreed and Lisa and Melissa withdrew their objection. In Cylon culture, the majority always ruled and once a decision was made, the others would obey.

Two hours later Lisa slipped into Melissa's quarters aboard the Basestar.

"We can't allow James to set off those nuclear charges," she began her blue eyes shifting nervously. "We must stop him! If we allow all these young humans to be wiped out, we lose our most important bargaining chip with Admiral Clements."

"What do you propose we do, after all James's plan may actually work," Melissa replied feeling ill at ease with this conversation. She knew the other Eights would not like what James was planning. "I agree that it would be a good back up to have those humans as a bargaining chip if things go terribly wrong for us, but I just don't see how we can stop him. The others have agreed to his plan."

"We both know that in the beginning the Sixes and the Eights were opposed to this war. Even a number of the Twos questioned the wisdom of attacking the humans. There were even rumors that the Cylon Mainframe back on Cylon was against it," Lisa replied.

"But no one but the Ones have access to the Cylon Mainframe anymore," Melissa replied remembering the initial discussion on the attack on the humans. The Sixes and Eights had only gone along because the others had ruled against them. They had agreed to support the majority decision. "What can we do?"

"I am afraid that James is seriously underestimating Admiral Clements capabilities," Lisa continued worriedly. "Admiral Clements was fourth in command of the entire Colonial fleet. He is a very capable and intelligent commander."

"A very dangerous Admiral," Melissa replied recalling what she knew of Clements.

"This entire episode with Admiral Clements seems to have been too well thought out," Lisa continued thoughtfully. "It's as if the Colonial High Command secretly planned on what might happen if we attacked and destroyed their Colonies. Admiral Clements is the spearhead of that plan, and I fear we might be greatly underestimating his capabilities."

"James seems so sure though," Melissa spoke weighing Lisa's words carefully in her mind. If they went against the consensus, they might face some serious ramification later.

"Who knows what assets the Colonials put back for this plan. With Admiral's Stockwell and Reynolds, he has a very competent set of Admirals for his fleet. We know this just from the attacks on Caprica and Ragnar. They were brilliantly executed! Just look what they have done to our bases with little or no loss to themselves. Who knows just how large an industrial base this Sidon mining colony has? We know they have the Nexus Shipyard at their disposal plus other assets! What if they have another secret base like the one Darien attacked."

"What can we do?" Melissa asked, a lot of what Lisa was saying made sense.

"We give the humans the disarming codes for the nuclear charges," Lisa replied with fire in her eyes. "That will put the humans in our debt and give us a bargaining chip if we ever need it."

"Give them the codes!" Melissa stammered shocked her eyes opening wide. "If James finds out he will have us both executed. He will throw us out the nearest airlock. We will die; there is no more resurrection until the Hub returns!"

"We just have to make sure he never finds out," Lisa replied softly. "Now here is what I need for you to do."

For several hours the two Cylon met discussing their plans. The role they were about to play could be very dangerous, but it might also be the only thing that could some day save the Cylon race if James's plans went awry.

**DAY 340**

Lieutenant Jantz felt very vulnerable standing out in the open completely unarmed. He knew that Sergeant Rush had several hand picked sharp shooters with heavy assault rifles covering his back. The Sergeant had wanted to handle this meeting, but Lieutenant Jantz felt that this was his responsibility. He wasn't going to risk someone else's life doing his job!

A few hours back, Deep Shelter Base had received a tight beam message stating that one of the Cylon High Command needed to meet with the commanding officer of the base urgently. The message stated very clearly that no reply to this message was to be sent, other then an officer to the designated meeting coordinates at the stipulated time. After a heated discussion General Ashton had agreed to the meeting with Major Rice vehemently opposed. Major Rice felt that it could be a Cylon attempt to infiltrate the base and that the Human Cylon should be executed as soon as he or she made an appearance.

General Ashton had contacted the Solaria, which was currently in orbit and requested that Colonel Adams fly down immediately for an important conference. Colonel Adams had arrived within the hour in his raptor and had concurred with General Ashton that they at least needed to find out what the Cylon wanted. Proper defensive measures would be taken to ensure that the Cylon could not harm the base or see anything that might be of sensitive military value.

Lieutenant Jantz's sense of worry went up exponentially as a blonde Cylon female escorted by two Centurions stepped out of the trees. The blonde looked around carefully, her eyes finally focusing on Lieutenant Jantz. Walking over to him, she stopped a few feet away and looked at the Lieutenant as if measuring him. A towering Centurion stood protectively on each side of her.

"I am Lisa," she said in a normal sounding human voice looking into the Lieutenant's eyes. "I have important information for your Commander."

"We will see about that," Lieutenant Jantz replied in a slightly hostile voice. "I have been instructed to take you to our base. Your Centurions however must stay here!"

"Very well," Lisa replied. She hadn't really expected to be able to take the Centurions, she just felt safer and more secure in their presence. The two were programmed to protect her at any cost, and they were totally obedient. Turning she instructed the two Centurions to return to the tree line and wait for her there.

An hour later Lisa was seated in the conference room of Deep Shelter Base. She had been blindfolded as a precaution and had been escorted by a squad of heavily armed marines. She was led down to the conference room where the meeting would take place.

General Ashton and Colonel Adams were seated across from her with four heavily armed marines in the room. Two of them had their heavy assault rifles pointed directly at the Cylon woman with the safeties off.

Lisa blinked her eyes as the blindfold was removed and looked across at the two men seated across from her. She recognized General Aston immediately from an information packet she had studied on Caprica's defenses nearly two years earlier. No wonder this base has been such a pain in the Cylon's ass, she realized. Just how many commanding officers did we miss in the initial attack she wondered? It seemed like more kept popping up all the time."

"I am General Ashton," the General began studying the blonde Cylon across the table from him carefully. "This is Colonel Adams who is a representative of the Fleet Commander."

"Admiral Clements," Lisa replied with a nod, there was a Major Adams that was listed as Clement's Exec at the Caprica Shipyards. Lisa knew this was probably the same man. "We know that he survived."

General Ashton hesitated for a moment as he digested this tidbit of information. So the Cylons had figured out that Admiral Clements had survived and was leading the war effort against them. That was information that they would need to get to the Admiral. Not that it changed anything, but it could mean that the Cylons were more aware of their capabilities then they had originally thought.

"Just why have you requested this meeting?" General Aston asked looking sharply at the Cylon. "What do you want?"

Lisa paused a moment as she gazed at the two human men. She was uncomfortably aware of the rifles the marines had pointed at her. She wondered if she had made a critical mistake and wouldn't be getting out of here alive. "We are aware that you know about the prisoners on the moon Celeen 2 and the planet Picon," she spoke watching the two to see how her words affected them.

General Ashton looked back at the Cylon woman, wondering just what her game was. They had discussed the possibility of Celeen 2 and Picon being a trap. Particularly since a lot of Cylon communication recently had been about the prisoners. It was as if the Cylons wanted to ensure that the Colonials knew about the captives.

"We suspected that," he replied noncommittally. "Your communications the last few months have not been very secretive, we have suspected it may be a trap. Now please tell us why you are here and why I shouldn't have you taken outside and executed for crimes against our race. Particularly the destruction of our Colonies!"

"Because of the information I have," Lisa replied turning slightly pale. She had known there was a chance she might not leave here alive, but it was a risk she had been willing to take. "We know that you are preparing a rescue operation."

"How does that affect anything?" General Ashton replied glancing at Colonel Adams. "You had to know that once we knew about the captives, we would attempt a rescue at some point in time."

"We will eliminate the captives if you attempt a rescue," Lisa replied nervously looking over at one of the marines who had his rifle aimed at her head. "Even as I speak nuclear charges are being emplaced in all the camps on Celeen 2 and Picon. When your fleet shows up and your marines begin to land, they will be set off. These nukes are powerful enough to kill all the captives and inflict heavy casualties on your marine force."

"Nuclear charges?" Colonel Adams spoke in surprise a frown covering his face. "Why are you telling us this, answer, your life hangs in the balance!"

Lisa paused as she contemplated what she was about to say. She was not going to mention the Cylon fleet that would be waiting in ambush. If Cavil's plan somehow succeeded, the human fleet would be destroyed. If it didn't, the information she was about to give to the humans could some day be used as a powerful bargaining chip. She was playing a dangerous balancing act that could easily get her killed if anything went awry.

"If you know about the rescue operation then why are you here?" General Ashton interjected with a questioning look. "It seems to me like you are giving us valuable information that could affect our rescue plan. I warn you, if you are trying to mislead us, we won't hesitate to have you executed!"

"I am doing neither," Lisa replied raising her eyebrow. "You need to know that not all Cylons agreed with the attack on your Colonies. The Six's and Eight's both voted against the attack. We believed that a peaceful coexistence could be worked out between us. But the other models led by John Cavil, a One, disagreed and we were out voted."

"But your two models still assisted in the attack!" General Ashton barked with anger. "Nearly fifty billion people wiped out, the Colonies in ruin. If you disagreed with the attack how could you participate in such insane blood shed!"

"We follow the concept of majority rule," Lisa replied simply her gaze unwavering. "We agreed long ago to obey the majority decision in our society."

"Then why are you here now?" Isn't your very presence here flouting of that idealism?" Colonel Adams demanded with cold look in his eyes as he glared at the Cylon. He wondered what she really wanted.

Lisa paused a moment before continuing. This was a lot more difficult then she had imagined. For an instant, she wondered if she had made a mistake in coming here. "No, some of us now believe that the Cavil line is flawed and is recklessly endangering the Cylon race. The Ones were the primary movers in promoting he attack upon your Colonies. We believe that their hatred for humans is affecting their decision-making. I am willing to give you the disarming code for the nukes that are being placed in the human compounds." She hesitated looking at the two men. They both had a surprised and stunned look upon their faces at the mention of the disarming codes.

"The disarming codes," General Ashton replied wondering what this Cylon wanted. She had to want something in exchange for the codes. "Why would you do that?"

"There may come a time when I ask you to trust me, to listen to a proposal that some of us have talked about in secret from the other models," Lisa replied in a more calm voice. "If that time comes, all I ask is that you listen and remember that I gave you these codes. We also want you to understand that not all Cylons are quite as evil as you want to believe."

"That's all, just a promise that I will listen to you?" General Ashton said looking into Lisa's deep blue eyes in disbelief.

"That's all General," she replied with a slight nod of her head. "I can't tell you when or what that discussion will be about, other then that it might occur some time in the future, and it might be very important to the survival of both of our races."

"Very well," General Ashton replied with a deep breath. "I can't guarantee anything other then that I will listen. If these codes work, then I will stand by our bargain. I will give Admiral Clements my decision, and I am sure that he will stand by it. Now what are the disarming codes?"

Two hours later Lisa was back with her Centurions. She had given General Ashton the disarming codes for Cavil's nukes. She just hoped she had not made a colossal mistake!

**DAY 350**

Admiral Clements sat at the conference table aboard the Aurora, as the General Staff met to finalize the strikes on Celeen 2 and Picon.

"The two new colonies have been completed and we are moving the last of the civilians into their new homes," Mayor Mike Patterson reported. It had taken a lot of work, but the colonies were ready.

"We should have everyone settled into the New Haven Colony in two more days. So far everything is going very smoothly," Governor Anderlen added looking over at Mike who nodded in agreement. "From what Mike and I have worked out, we will have 700,000 people living in the Sidon Colony, another 125,000 in Agro 1, and the remainder totaling about 833,000 will be living in the New Haven colony. That is slightly below what all three colonies are capable of handling and should work out very well for all concerned."

"What about the shielding and weapons for the two colonies, how long will that take?" Admiral Clements asked. He would feel a lot better when both of the new colonies were as heavily armed as the Sidon.

General Collins looked through several sheets of paper on the conference table before him. "We are still working on installing the reactive shielding on both of the new colonies. Once that is completed, the weapon emplacements will be added. That alone is going to take us at least another year. Our current estimates are 312 days before the New Haven colony is fully shielded and armed and nearly 420 day before Agro 1 is completely shielded and armed."

"That long," Admiral Clements commented knowing he was trying to rush things. "Is there any way we can speed up that time line, I will feel a lot more comfortable when those two colonies are capable of defending themselves."

"I don't see how," General Collins replied shaking his head. "Mayor Patterson and Governor Anderlen have been working with me on installing the reactive shielding, and we just don't see any practical way to speed up the process. We will be using most of our available resources as it is."

"Very well," Admiral Clements responded accepting that it was going to take awhile. "What about the next colony, when can we expect it to be completed?"

"The next colony will be Caprica Prime and it is already under construction," General Collins replied. "We have completed the cylinder shape and have begun hollowing out the interior. We estimate the colony will be completed and ready for habitation in another 220 days. We are using too many of our resources on the shielding and weapons for the other two colonies to be able to complete it any sooner."

"What about the Gunstar construction bays on the New Haven Colony? What is the current status on them?" Clements asked curious when new ship construction could be started. He had suspected that the third new colony would take longer then the first two. They only had so many resources available and they were starting to spread them a little thin with all the projects they were working on.

"The construction bays are nearly complete and we should start ship construction in another 30 to 40 days," Admiral Anders commented. He was responsible for setting up the construction bays in the New Haven Colony. "As you know, we had a number of high tech military people at the Boneyards and they have gone through the plans for the original Titan Class Gunstar and made a number of modifications. I have placed a list of the changes and modifications we have made in the folder before you."

"Solium Plasma shells," Admiral Reynolds said surprised his eyes widening looking at the list of changes. "How the frak can we control something like that? Isn't Solium too dangerous an explosive to be used in a shell?"

"It's a specially modified rail gun," Admiral Anders replied. "Professor Ravashol has been working with the engineers on this. He assures me it will be safe. The Solium will be super heated into plasma and injected into the magnetic field of the railgun, then fired at high velocity toward its target. We estimate it will hit with the force of a tactical nuke."

"What if the magnetic field fails, I wouldn't want super heated Solium in the form of plasma loose on my ship!" Admiral Reynolds continued in a worried voice. Solium had always been a dangerous substance and had caused more then one massive explosion on warships in the past.

"No danger," Admiral Anders continued. He had expected some concern over this shell. He had the same concerns when it was first mentioned to him. "There is an emergency system that will super cool the Solium and neutralize it if necessary. To continue, the new Titan Class Gunstar will also be equipped with 220 point defense turrets, 12 missile tubes, 2 medium mega pulse laser cannons, 4 twin heavy laser turrets, and 12 twin defensive laser turrets, as well as the two Solium plasma railguns. She will also be capable of handing a squadron of 18 vipers and 4 raptors."

"That's one fraking lot of firepower," Admiral Reynolds commented amazed at the weapons that were being put on the Gunstar. "Is power generation going to be a problem?"

"No," Admiral Anders replied looking at Admiral Reynolds. "The ship will be equipped with two Primary Energizers. The Titan will also be equipped with a new reactive armor that is reinforced with a dissipating force field that will spread the impact energy over a larger portion of the hull reducing damage from an attack. Once again, we have Professor Ravashol to thank for this breakthrough. We estimate that this Gunstar will have a defensive and offensive strength nearly three times of what our current Assault Gunstars have."

The room was quiet as everyone digested this surprising information. Admiral Clements had known that the military techs had been going over the plans, but he had not expected anything like this. He knew that they were very fortunate that Professor Ravashol had been at the Boneyards. The brilliant scientist had been extremely useful.

"Why haven't we built ships like this before?" Admiral Stockwell asked. "Surely this isn't all new technology?"

"No sir, not all of it," Colonel Peterson replied. "We have had some of the technology to build more powerful ships like this for quite some time, but the cost factor has always prevented it. If we were still facing colonial budget restrictions and cost factors, Gunstars like these would cost nearly four times what our normal Gunstars cost. That's why nothing like this was ever built or even seriously discussed."

"When will the first ones be completed?" Admiral Clements asked. It sounded like these new Titan Class Gunstars would be very deadly to a Cylon Basestar.

"The construction bays are designed to build four Titan Class Gunstars at the same time. While most of the construction will be done robotically, some of it will still have to be done by trained technicians," Admiral Anders replied looking around the group. "We estimate that the first four will be ready 240 days after we begin construction."

"You have got to be kidding," Admiral Reynolds said surprised. "You can build four Titan Class Gunstars with all these modifications that quickly?"

"You have to understand Admiral," Colonel Peterson replied smiling. "These construction bays we built are the most modern ever constructed. We didn't have to worry about costs or making do with cheaper equipment. Everything in the new bays is state of the art."

"How did you manage that," Admiral Stockwell asked in amazement. "I thought you were using parts from the Boneyards to build the bays?"

"Some parts," Admiral Anders replied. "Everything is being rebuilt and modified as it is being installed. We also built a lot of special equipment in the machine shops on the Sidon for the bays."

"Very well," Admiral Clements said satisfied with the report. It was time to discuss the planned attacks. "Admiral Reynolds is your attack plan for Celeen 2 completed."

Yes sir," Admiral Reynolds replied. "BSG 15 will enter Celeen 2s orbit with the Tauri, one Jupiter Class Battlestar, Two Columbia Two Class Battlestars, the Warstar Olympia, and 4 Gunstars, Two Assault Stars, and four Marine Assault Ships. General Abramson will command the marines. Current raptor fly bys indicate that the Cylons have one Basestar and two Support Ships currently in orbit around the moon. My fleet will engage the Cylon fleet while General Abramson launches his attack upon the moon."

"As soon as my Assaultstars start to descend, we will send the disarming codes to the nukes on the surface," General Abramson continued. This was the part of the mission that Abramson felt uneasy about. He wondered if they could actually trust the source of the disarming codes. "We will continue to send the codes until marines on the surface confirm that the weapons have been disarmed."

"I just hope the codes are good," Admiral Reynolds commented with a worried look. "If they're not, this whole operation will become a disaster if those nukes go off!"

"It's a chance we have to take," Admiral Clements replied. He had worried about that possibility to. However, he didn't see what other choice they had.

"If the Cylons are expecting the nukes to wipe out our marines, they will probably move the majority of their Centurions out of the blast radius of the weapons as soon as our ships are detected," General Abramson continued. "It's only after we have begun our landings and the Cylons realize that the nukes didn't go off, that we expect major resistance. The Cylon Centurions will rush back to the compounds. The Assaultstars should be able to take out the majority of these with planetary bombardment strikes as well as Archangel Bomber strikes."

"Once we have eliminated the Cylon warships in orbit we will take up a defensive position and cover the ground operation," Admiral Reynolds added. "With our warships and vipers we should be able to cover the entire moon."

Admiral Clements nodded, "Admiral Stockwell what about your assault on Picon?"

"Our fleet will consist of Two Mercury Class Battlestars, four Columbia Two Class Battlestars, the Warstar Athena, and four Gunstars," Admiral Stockwell replied. "General Collins will command the two Assaultstars and four Marine Assault Ships. Our current reports indicate that the Cylons have two Basestars and two Support Ships in orbit. Once we have destroyed the Cylon warships we will take up a defensive position above Picon while the ground operation is being conducted."

"Hopefully we will be able to secure the civilian compound with little loss of life to the civilians," General Collins continued. "Once the nuke disarming codes are transmitted, we will land 4,000 marines to form a perimeter around the compound. We believe that the majority of the Centurions will be outside of this perimeter expecting the nukes to eliminate our landing force. There are still a large number of what we believe to be automatic defensive weapons sites on top of some of the buildings in the compound. These may have to be taken out with Archangel Bomber strikes. The rest of the marines will land in the compound itself and secure it."

Admiral Clements nodded knowing that these two plans were the best they could come up with. He had read the finer details of each of the two rescue operations, and discussed the two attacks in detail with the two Admirals and the two Generals previously.

"As everyone knows the disarming codes were given to us by a human Cylon," Admiral Clements remarked. "I am not at liberty to say what model this Cylon was other then that they asked for a return favor sometime in the future. What this favor may be we have no idea. However, what we may be seeing is a rift in the Cylon command structure that we may be able to take advantage of in the future."

"We know from our Cylon intercepts," General Collins added looking at his notes. "That the Cylon fleet is the weakest it has ever been. Nearly half of it is off in pursuit of the Galactica, and an unknown group of Colonial ships that are suspected to be heading for the Delta Quadrant. What is surprising is that neither of these two Cylon fleets has reported back. What this means we don't know. We also know that a number of Cylon Shipyards were destroyed by an unknown Battlestar Group immediately after the attack on the Colonies. This has seriously hampered the Cylons ability to produce new ships."

"We all know that this is a trap set up by the Cylons to destroy our fleet," Admiral Clements continued as he looked around the group. "We have had to delay this attack in order to complete the upgrades to all the ships we took from the Boneyards. It was necessary to ensure we had a sufficient force to engage the remaining Cylon fleet in a major battle."

"It was necessary," Admiral Reynolds commented. "We all hated the fact we couldn't launch this rescue operation sooner. Particularly with those kids held on Picon. There can be no doubt that his is a trap, the Cylon fleets at Celeen 2 and Picon are just too weak. They are trying to lure us in."

"We have received Cylon message intercepts the last few weeks indicating they are preparing to execute the hostages," Admiral Clements continued shaking his head slightly. "We believe they are trying to get us to attack Picon and Celeen 2."

"I just hope the messages are fakes," General Collins replied with a worried look on his face. "I wouldn't put it past these human Cylons to execute those captives."

"Our latest raptor flybys indicate the hostages are still alive," Admiral Reynolds commented his eyes looking around the table. "This is all an attempt by them to get us to commit our fleet so they can destroy it!"

"What the Cylon's don't know is that we have turned the tables and intend to destroy a major portion of their fleet instead," Admiral Clements continued in a clear determined voice. "Almost every ship we have will be committed to this operation. We can expect major casualties and ship losses. The only ships that will remain behind will be some of the Escortstars and several Gunstars."

Admiral Clements paused taking a deep breath. "We believe that as soon as the Cylons realize that their nukes didn't go off, and discover we have committed ourselves to the landings, their fleet will jump into the area between Picon and Celeen 2. What the size of this fleet will be we have no accurate way of knowing. With the raids we have been committing recently, some of their ships have been reassigned to defend their major bases. However, we could be facing between 50 to 60 Cylon warships."

"We confirmed this with raptor flybys of the Colonies," Admiral Reynolds added. "The Cylons have pulled back some of their Support Ships due to our attacks. But their Basestars remain."

"They still have a very powerful fleet," Admiral Stockwell commented with concern. "We could be facing over 100 Cylon ships if they call in everything they have."

"We don't believe they will leave the Colonies completely unguarded, particularly Caprica," Admiral Reynolds commented.

"Admirals Reynolds and Stockwell you will have to hold your positions until I can arrive with our main fleet," Admiral Clements continued glancing at the two Admirals. "Once the main fleet has arrived additional units will be detached to reinforce your fleets. You will have to continue to cover the ground operations while the main fleet engages the Cylons." Admiral Clements looked slowly around the group. "Make no mistake people, we are going to take some losses so be prepared. Some of us in this room may not be coming back!"

For almost a full minute there was silence in the room as everyone thought about the mission they were about to embark upon.

"It's time to kick some Cylon ass!" Admiral Reynolds spoke with conviction.

"Definitely," Admiral Stockwell added. "It's about time they find out what it means to fight a real Colonial fleet in a major battle.

"So say we all," General Collins spoke and his words were echoed around the room.

"We will launch our attack in six days, have all ships ready and prepared," Admiral Clements ordered. "There is one other item I need to share with you. We sent several raptors on flybys of all the planets in the Picon system. As all of you know, Virgon was the scene of the biggest fleet battle during the attack upon our Colonies. If you will look at the screen behind me, you will see what one of our raptors found."

On the screen an undamaged shipyard appeared. However, what stunned everyone was what the shipyard contained. Two nearly completed Nova Class Battlestars!

"I don't believe it," Admiral Reynolds said standing up and looking closely at the screen in disbelief. "We were there; the Cylons were targeting all the orbiting installations. Admiral Nagala himself reported that the defensive satellites and the main shipyards had been destroyed."

"The main shipyards are gone, just orbiting debris is all that remains," Admiral Clements replied. "But the Nova Class Shipyards are untouched. We sent a second reconnasaince raptor in to confirm and we can see no Cylon activity in or around the shipyards. There is a Cylon Basestar and Support Ship in orbit, but they are on the other side of the planet."

"It's a trap sir," General Collins commented looking at the screen and shaking his head. "Those two ships were to be the new Fleet Command Ships, slightly larger then a Mercury Class but no where near as large as the Aurora. I will guarantee you that those landing bays are crammed full of Cylon raiders and Centurions. They obviously hope we will attempt to jump the shipyard back to our home base where they can launch an attack. I will almost bet that a closer scan will show nukes on both of those ships."

"You are quite correct," Admiral Clements replied with a nod. "We sent a heavily shielded raptor close to the shipyard and ran some scans. We detected the presence of over 70 nukes in the landing bays. They were heavily shielded but we had some special detection equipment that revealed their presence."

"If we were to jump that shipyard back here, those nukes could cause some serious damage to the new colonies," Mayor Patterson stated worriedly. "I don't think they could harm the Sidon too severely but the other colonies don't have their armor in place yet."

"I know," Admiral Clements replied somberly. "Does anyone have any suggestions on just how we can take that shipyard without a lot of casualties?"

"I recommend we skip it for now," General Abramson replied shaking his head. "We know it's a trap. Leave it alone. I know we would all like to get those two Nova Class ships, but the cost would be too high."

"I agree," Admiral Clements responded with a deep sigh. "As tempting as the shipyard is, the cost at this time would be too heavy."

"Perhaps once this operation is completed, we can come up with a plan for the shipyard," Admiral Stockwell spoke gazing wistfully at the screen. "But I agree, with that many nukes nothing good could come from an attack on that shipyard at this time."

They talked for another hour finalizing plans and contingency plans, an operation of this scale took a massive amount of careful thought and preparation. Eventually the meeting broke up with everyone going back to their respective commands.

Later that evening Admiral Clements sat in the Caprica Cloud restaurant in Sidon City with Mayor Patterson and Governor Anderlen. This was the type of restaurant his wife would have enjoyed, Admiral Clements thought looking around the restaurant. He felt extremely sad realizing that they would never share a meal again. His wife, his son, every member of his family was gone. These were thoughts he tried not to think about, they were to heart wrenching. It was easier to concentrate on his work; it kept these thoughts at bay.

"I see a lot of fleet people in here," Governor Anderlen commented looking around the restaurant.

"On leave before we leave in six days," Admiral Clements replied with a slight nod. "I have arranged for everyone to get 24 hours leave between now and when we depart." He knew that for some of these people they might not be coming back.

"Will you have time to inspect our two new colonies before the mission?" Mike asked picking up his glass and taking a sip of tea.

"Tomorrow afternoon if you two can free up some time from your busy schedules" Admiral Clements replied. He was interested in seeing the two new colonies now that they were completed.

"No problem," Governor Anderlen said standing up. "Speaking of the colonies, I need to get back, thank you for inviting me to dinner Admiral. I will see both of you tomorrow."

After the Governor had gone, Admiral Clements looked over at Mike Patterson and handed him a data disk.

"What's this?" Mike asked surprised turning the disk over in his hand.

"This mission has a lot of dangers," Admiral Clements replied pursing his lips. "If the disarming codes the Cylon gave us don't work, this whole attack could become unraveled. The Cylon fleet could be overwhelming and wipe us out; if they do then the next attack will be at Caprica. If they take out our fleet, then they will probably take Caprica as well."

"Surely that won't happen," Mike replied with concern in his voice, he could tell that the Admiral was worried.

"We are putting a lot of eggs into this basket Mike," Admiral Clements continued leaning back and closing his eyes briefly in thought. "We are pretty sure we can take the Cylon fleet, but you can never predict how things may go, that's why I want you to prepare for the worst. We are taking everything except ten Escortstars and four Gunstars. The two new Jupiter Class Battlestars Hyperion and Prometheus will be completed in another four to five months and then the new Gunstars will be ready shortly after that. That will give you a reasonably powerful fleet if none of us makes it back. I am promoting Colonel Steel to the rank of Admiral and giving him overall command of all the remaining military forces here at our new colonies. The man is brilliant and will make an excellent commanding officer."

"Admiral I hope none of this will be necessary," Mike replied in a quiet voice. He didn't like thinking that Admiral Clements and the other Admirals might not be coming back.

"Hopefully it won't be," Admiral Clements replied with a deep breath. "But if it is, I want to make sure that our people are safe. Mike stay inside this nebula, don't come out looking for us! Stay inside and grow your strength and someday when you have the ships, you can come out. But not until all the colonies are armed and you have sufficient ships to hold off the Cylons, then and only then are you to come out of the nebula."

"Yes sir, you can count on me," Mike replied quietly hoping that Clements returned safely.

Clements leaned back and tried to relax, he had done everything he could think of to ensure the survival of the human race. He knew that Admiral Steele, Mayor Patterson, and Governor Anderlen would keep his people safe. Now it was up to him and the fleet to do their part.

_I may put up a second chapter early next week. Its revision is almost complete and it covers the attack on Celeen 2 and Picon. Lots of action!_

_I have had several e-mails about the number of ships under Admiral Clements command. Listed below are the ships. Remember most of these came from the Boneyards._

**Nova Class Commandstar**

Aurora Admiral Clements

Commander Ted Cain

**Mercury Class Battlestars**

Picon Admiral Stockwell BSG 9

Canopus Commander Tyler

Tauri Admiral Reynolds BSG 15

**Jupiter Class Battlestars**

Magellan Commander Bidwell

Odyssey Commander Blake

Solaria Commander Livingston

Cimitar

**Columbia 2 Class Battlestars**

Altair Commander Davidson

Spica

Pandora Commander Masterson

Chimera

Marathon

Miranda

Archimedes

Medusa

**Valkyrie Class Battlestar**

Caprica Commander Talon

**Assaultstars**

Gideon

Chiron

Demetrius

Delphi

**Firestars**

Eternal

Morrigan

Paladin

Daedalus

Hermes

Javelin

Minotaur

Reliant

Repulse

Dionysus

Achilles

Gorgon

Osiris

Olympus

Basilisk

Starflare

Nathalia

Ceres

Hibernia

Valiant

Cerebrus

Madrigal

**Warstars**

Olympia Commander David Wells

Argo

Acropolis

Chimera

Athena Commander Daniel Stokes

Chronos

Erasmus

Mercury

Therion

Ulysses

Rigel Commander Daryl Hannah

Chirona

**Gunstars**

Zeus Assault

Mars Assault

Hera Assault

Hesphaestus Assault

Artemis Assault

Hestia Assault

Dionysus Defender

Oracle Defender

Therms Defender

Cygnus Defender

Scorpius Defender

Antlia Defender

Triffid Defender Commander Major Lewis

**Marine Assault Ships**

Vengeance General Scott Abramson

Medusa

Celestra

Galatea

Atlas

Apollo

Striker

Renault

Repulse

Concordia

25


	26. Chapter 26

**DAY 356**

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**JUST OUTSIDE OF THE PICON SYSTEM**

James Cavil looked around expectantly at the assembled Cylon Command Crew.

"If our reports are correct, we can expect the humans to launch their rescue mission at any time. When they do, we will finally crush the last of the Colonial Fleet!"

"We have been waiting here nearly two weeks, why do you think they will attack now?" Mark Conoy asked a little aggravated over the time they had spent setting out here in empty space.

"Because I have sent out messages, which I am sure the Colonials have intercepted, indicating that we are about to execute the human captives on Celeen 2 and Picon," James replied with a crafty look. "They have to launch their rescue attempt, they have no other choice."

LeAnna Biers was looking at a view screen, which showed numerous Basestars and Support Ships stretching off into the distance waiting for their orders. They had gathered 18 Basestars and 36 Support Ships for this operation. That was nearly half of their remaining fleet. Another four Basestars and six Support Ships were at Caprica, the rest were scattered throughout the Colonies and at Cylon bases.

"We may be able to crush their fleet, but it still leaves Caprica and their home base intact," LeAnna commented turning to face Cavil with a concerned frown. "We are putting a lot of our ships at risk here, what if something goes wrong? Admiral Clements, Reynolds, and Stockwell are not fools; they may suspect this is a trap!"

"They won't," James replied confidently. "They will be too focused on rescuing the human captives. That is their weakness, and I intend to take full advantage of it.

"Their concern for their fellow humans," Lisa commented dryly. "Perhaps it's one of the better traits of their race."

"Bah," James spat out his eyes narrowing as he looked at Lisa with disapproval. "The humans have no admirable traits. All they ever did to the Cylon race was treat us like slaves, force us to serve them, and fight in their petty wars. They deserve to be wiped out!"

"What are your plans?" Melissa asked turning to gaze toward James. James had been very quiet the last few weeks, unusually so for him. "Remember we still rule by the majority. We must vote on all important decisions!"

"As soon as we have crushed their fleet here at Picon, we will return to Caprica and wipe out the forces they have in orbit," James replied confidently, pleased with the way his plans were developing. "Then we can turn our attention to their forces on the ground, without a fleet or the Defense Satellites to protect them, we can use our nukes. We will nuke what's left of the civilians and marines on the ground ending the resistance on Caprica completely. That will only leave Admiral Clement's secret base, which will no longer be a threat to us without a fleet. We will have ample time to find the base and destroy it."

"We will take a lot of fleet losses at Caprica taking out those Defense Satellites and the fleet they have there," Lisa said warningly looking around the group hoping others would agree with her. "Not counting what we lose here at Picon. Can we really afford to take such losses now with the Hub and the Colony both gone and out of contact? Many of us will die in the battles. We no longer have resurrection!"

"Our fleet is still large enough to handle the losses," Cavil replied determinedly his eyes narrowing not approving of Lisa's tone of voice. "Once the humans have been destroyed, we can begin rebuilding our fleet. My brothers John and Darien will return with the Hub and the Colony once the human fleets they are pursuing have been dealt with."

"But that doesn't solve the problem now," Melissa pressed determined to drive home Lisa's point about resurrection. "If we suffer losses, we will have raiders and numerous fellow human form Cylons that will die. They will not be able to resurrect! I don't know how our brothers and sisters will feel about that."

"We have overwhelming forces at our disposal," James replied in a gruff voice, Lisa and Melissa were becoming agitating. What was it with this Six and Eight, for that matter all the Sixes and Eights?

"But some of us will die!" Lisa spoke shaking her head. "We can't replace them."

"We shouldn't lose that many of our brothers and sisters, our main losses will be in our raiders," James replied in a slightly louder voice his eyes widening and turning dark. Why couldn't they see that his plan would work, losses should be minimal. The losses would be worth it to destroy the last of the human resistance. "We will use the same tactics we used at Virgon and crush Admiral Clement's forces with massive raider attacks. As I said earlier, John and Darien will be returning. Their forces will be more then adequate to replace any that we lose."

"Easier said then done," Melissa replied not sounding convinced, her eyes looking questioningly at the other Cylons in the Command Center. "How can we be sure that John and Darien will even return? After all, there has been no contact with our Cylon brothers and sisters for months now. All of our Hybrids were grown by the facilities in the Colony. How can we build new Basestars without new Hybrids?"

"Our raiders might not be to willing to sacrifice themselves in battle knowing that it means final death," Lisa commented staring at James. "They may avoid confrontations that could end in their destruction."

"They will obey orders," James spoke in an authoritive voice his aggravation rising. "They will die willingly to serve the greater whole of the Cylon race!"

"Perhaps," Melissa replied not convinced. "But you still haven't explained what we will do about new Basestars if Darien and John don't return. How will we replace our losses? I am not so sure our ship losses will be as light as you seem to think they will be."

Cavil was quiet for a moment. He knew that building new Basestars would be a problem. "Several of the shipyards for the Support Ships remain as well as the new ones we have been building. We will continue to modify the shipyards and equip the Support Ships with more weapons until the Colony returns." He didn't respond to the comment about John or Darien not returning. He had serious concerns about that himself. He just hoped that John would send the Colony back to Cylon soon.

"It could be years before the Colony returns! A lot of the technology for the Basestars is on the Colony," Simon said worriedly adding his concerned voice to Melissa and Lisa's. "We can't grow hybrids without the Colony, not only that but the organic compounds we use for the Basestars and the raiders are also produced on the Colony. I don't know if we can reproduce that technology without the Colony and the information that is stored in its data banks?"

"We will manage," James replied his voice becoming tinged with anger at his plans being continually questioned by his fellow Cylons. Why couldn't they see things as he did? "Once the humans are destroyed we can design a totally new Basestar if necessary, one that doesn't need a hybrid!"

"What about the nuclear charges on Picon and Celeen 2, are they ready?" Kelvin Doral asked his gaze on James. "Are they sufficient to take out the camps and eliminate any marines that the Colonials may land?"

"Yes," James replied with a satisfied smug look on his face. "As soon as we detect their first Marine landings, I will send out the signal for the bombs to detonate. The blasts will destroy the human compounds plus any marines that have landed. At the same time, we will attack their ships trapping them between their landing operations and our fleet."

"What about our Centurions, are we going to sacrifice them?" Melissa asked in a serious tone of concern. "There are thousands of Centurions that are currently in the blast zones as well as some of us who have been assigned to those facilities."

"No, as soon as they detect the human fleet in orbit they have been instructed to leave the human compounds to wait for the nuclear charges to go off," James replied getting tired of all the questions. "All of our own models will be evacuated in heavy raiders that are standing by as soon as the human fleet is detected. Once the charges have gone off, our Centurions will return to the compounds and wipe out any humans that may have survived." James felt sure that he had thought of everything. He didn't notice the concerned knowing look that passed between Lisa and Melissa.

**JOINT DEMETER AND KOBOLAN TASKGROUP **

**OPERATING IN STEALTH MODE**

**CAPRICA SYSTEM**

Admiral Stone, Admiral Reed, Admiral Murray, and Admiral Crius were meeting in a small conference room on the Mercury Class Battlestar Aires. They were reviewing the scans from the Electronics Surveillance Ship the Silent Searcher. For the last several days, the Silent Searcher, under escort of a Kobolan Battle Cruiser and two Kobolan Escort ships, had been jumping around the Colonies and the nearby star systems. The Silent Searcher had been scanning for Cylon as well as Colonial ship signatures with her new and improved sensor arrays. The two Kobolan Escort ships had also been emplacing Kobolan FTL sensor buoys in each system.

"I don't like what we have found," Admiral Stone spoke pointing to one of the sensor scans lying on the table in front of him. "The Cylons have a fleet of 18 Basestars and 36 Support Ships setting just outside the Picon system."

"From the communication intercepts, we know that the Cylons are holding captives on Picon as well as Celeen 2," Admiral Murray commented gazing at the bright dots on the sensor scan. "They have been threatening to execute their hostages. It has to be a trap for Admiral Clements."

"A trap for your Admiral Clements," Admiral Crius echoed nodding his head slowly. "These Cylons are crafty indeed. They use your captive people to lure your Admiral and his fleet in."

"Those Cylon ships will jump into the Picon system when Admiral Clements launches his rescue mission," Admiral Reed continued nodding in agreement. He leaned forwards studying the several of the sensor scan sheets in more detail. "Clements has to suspect this is a trap."

"What are we going to do?" Admiral Murray asked looking at Admiral Stone. "Do we commit our ships if the Cylons close their trap on Admiral Clements?"

"I suggest we jump our ships to the outskirts of the Picon system and wait," Admiral Stone spoke gazing down at the bright white energy signatures on the scan sheets. "If Admiral Clements gets into trouble we will be in a position to assist. The Silent Seeker's sensors will detect his ships when they jump into the Picon system. We will see how he matches up with the Cylon force. We will not allow Clement's ships to be destroyed! Place all your task groups at condition two and be prepared for combat!"

**14 HOURS LATER**

**ADMIRAL CLEMENTS FLEET OUTSIDE THE PICON SYSTEM**

Admiral Clements looked at the large Dradis screen and the view screens that surrounded it. The Dradis was full of green icons and the view screens full of ships. The Battlestar Tauri was centered on one screen and the Battlestar Picon on another. Around each Battlestar their individual fleets waited, hungry to begin the attack. Admiral Clements took a deep breath. So it's come to this, he thought. The Cylons were sure to be waiting. He was about to send some of his best people into a trap, he wondered briefly what his wife would have thought about him sending so many young men and women to their deaths. Scarcely a day passed that he didn't think about her or their son.

Commander Cain stood at Admiral Clement's side waiting patiently for his orders. So much planning had gone into this mission. If they were successful, the war against the Cylons could be turned around completely. If they failed, then the war essentially would be over. It would be years or possibly decades before Admiral Steele, back in the nebula, would be ready to venture forth. By then the Cylons would be so solidly entrenched in the Colonies it might be impossible to drive them out.

The tactical officers and their subordinates waited expectantly knowing that very soon they would be involved in the largest fleet operation since Admiral Nagala tried to hold at Virgon. Around the entire massive CIC tension and expectation was in the air. There was an eerie silence in the room as everyone waited for the operation to begin.

Pressing the com button on his console, Admiral Clements prepared to give Admiral Reynolds and Admiral Stockwell their orders. For a moment he paused, he felt hesitant about giving the order knowing that possibly thousands of young men and women were about to die. He knew they would suffer casualties and ship losses; there was no way around it. The attack was ready to commence. All their months of careful planning had been aimed at this moment; he just hoped they had not over looked anything.

"Admiral Reynolds and Admiral Stockwell you have a go, good luck and good hunting," Admiral Clements spoke, recalling when Admiral Nagala had spoken those very same words to him so many months back.

**CELEEN 2**

Down on Celeen 2 Colonel Jacobson looked worriedly over the latest reports from the various compounds. Things were deteriorating. It had finally reached a point that they could no longer mine the Tylium the Cylons demanded. The Cylons each week had been steadily increasing the daily quotas of Tylium to be mined and processed. Mining and refining the Tylium was back breaking work requiring long hours of tedious labor. For the underfed and undernourished men and women under his command it was becoming impossible!

Colonel Jacobson knew that once they began to miss their daily quotas, the Cylons would begin executing captives as an example to the others to work harder. The deaths had slowed down some once the word had been spread that Admiral Clements had survived and was leading a resistance fleet. However, so much time had passed since that initial word that hope was once more fading. The lack of food and medicine was still taking its daily toll and starting to get worse. Colonel Jacobson was currently meeting with his staff and listening to the reports from his fellow officers.

"We are pretty sure something is going on," Lieutenant Gibbs reported with worry in his voice. "All the compounds report that the Centurions have emplaced several new heavily defended buildings in each compound. Just like the two we have here. No one knows what they are or what they contain. There have also been reports of numerous missile defense batteries being set up outside the compounds. We know of at least six that have been set up outside our own compound."

"Very well Lieutenant, it's obvious the Cylons are up to something, we just don't know what," Colonel Jacobson commented his eyes moving across the small group of officers. "These new missile defense batteries have all been set up a considerable distance from the compounds. Why so far away from the compound garrisons concerns me. They would be less likely to be targeted closer to the compounds. We need to continue to keep an eye on those new buildings and see if we can find out just what's inside them. I don't like this at all. I have a very bad feeling about this."

"Sir," Lieutenant Anderson said rushing into the room almost out of breath an excited look on his face. The Cylon Centurions are leaving, not only that but we can see what looks like explosions up in space."

"Clements," Colonel Jacobson said standing up with renewed hope lighting up his weary eyes. "As soon as the Centurions are gone I want to find out what's in those two new buildings. Lieutenant Gibbs as soon as it is safe to do so, take some men and break into both of them!"

"Yes sir," Lieutenant Gibbs replied. Turning he rushed out to gather up some men he knew that he could depend on. He was worried about what might be in those two buildings and the only way to find out was to break into them and look. The next big question was why had the Centurions left?

**A FEW MINUTES EARLIER ABOVE CELEEN 2**

Above Celeen 2, Admiral Reynolds watched the Dradis screen aboard his flagship the Battlestar Tauri attentively, as his fleet rapidly closed on the Cylon ships.

"Cylons launching raiders," Lieutenant Everson the Dradis operator reported as his Dradis screen began to show numerous red threat icons. "Estimate 400 in bound with more still launching!"

"Order all ships to launch vipers I want those raiders intercepted," Reynolds ordered calmly as his eyes moved to the operation's table, which currently showed the position of his ships in relation to the Cylon ships. "All ships to close on targets, I want that Basestar and those two Support Ships blown out of space! Standby for raider suppression fire." Turning to his Exec, he commented worriedly. "I had hoped the Cylons would jump away when they saw how badly they are outnumbered."

"It looks like they are going to stay and fight," Colonel Madden responded watching the Dradis screen attentively.

Vipers rushed down their launch tubes blasting into space from the two large Battlestars the Tauri and Solaria. The two Columbia Two Class Battlestars Altair and Spica were also launching their vipers, in just a matter of a few minutes almost 600 Colonial vipers were headed toward the deadly wall of incoming raiders.

"Eleven hundred raiders now inbound, no heavy raiders detected," Lieutenant Everson reported as his screen continued to light up with red threat icons.

"Frak that's a lot of raiders," Colonel Madden commented as he watched the wall of raiders closing on their fleet. "Stand by for suppression fire on my command," he ordered Captain Jones the tactical officer.

"Order the Marine ships to stay behind us; the Gunstars are to stay with them to cover them from raider attacks if any get through our fighter screen," Reynolds ordered as he stared intently at the Dradis screen watching the approaching Cylon raiders. He noticed that no heavy raiders were in the approaching wall of Cylon ships, he would have thought they would have been mixed in. "Watch out for their heavy raiders, they have to be here somewhere!"

Pressing his mini com, he activated the fleet communication's line between him and Commander John Livingston on the Battlestar Solaria. "Let's focus on the Basestar John. Commander Wells has his orders as far as the Support Ships go."

"Cylon Basestar is now in weapons range," Captain Jones reported as his weapons began showing target lock.

"Engage with our main KEW batteries, standby on missile tubes," Admiral Reynolds ordered. Colonel Madden had moved over to stand next to Captain Jones ensuring that the KEW batteries were targeting the correct areas of the Basestar.

"Initiate suppression fire on inbound ordinance," Madden ordered as missiles began launching from the Basestar. "Set the defensive batteries to automatic fire,"

The Tauri's six heavy KEW batteries began to fire sending heavy rounds toward the Cylon Basestar at a fraction of the speed of light. As soon as they fired, they recycled and fired again. The ship vibrated slightly each time a heavy round was fired. The entire loading and firing operation was automatic once set in motion.

In space the vipers and raiders had became mixed in a deadly dogfight. Explosions littered space as vipers and raiders alike were wiped out in the ferocious battle. The vipers were more maneuverable but the raiders carried heavier ordinance. Small fireballs littered space as weapons and ships exploded. Pairs of vipers working together would blast apart a Cylon raider with their 20-millimeter cannons or an interceptor missile. The Cylons worked in groups of three trying to separate the Colonial vipers from their wing mates and then would use their deadly interceptor missiles to take out the Colonial viper.

"Solaria is firing," Captain Jones reported aboard the Tauri as the second Battlestar began firing her KEW batteries at the Basestar.

The two larger Battlestars were targeting the Basestar while the Warstar Olympia and the two Columbia Two Class Battlestars were targeting the two Support Ships.

Weapons fire was now becoming intense between the three ships. Numerous damaging impacts could be seen on the Cylon Basestar as the heavy KEW rounds struck and penetrated deep into the Cylon ship. Explosions began to rock the Basestar under the deadly onslaught of the two Battlestars. In turn, the Basestar was steadily firing missiles trying to penetrate the two Battlestar's flak screens.

The Dradis had already sounded a warning alarm indicating that some of those missile contained nuclear warheads. That had been expected.

Admiral Reynolds felt the Tauri shudder as a Cylon missile penetrated the flak screen and slammed home striking the ship's thick reactive armor. Several red lights lit up on the damage control board.

"Small tactical nuke hit frames fourteen and fifteen on the lower hull," Colonel Madden reported. "Damage is minimal."

"Sir I am detecting a group of heavy raiders coming up from Celeen 2 and they are armed with nukes. Dradis indicates 40 plus heavy raiders now inbound in a single compact formation," Lieutenant Everson warned as he tracked the inbounds.

"That's where their heavy raiders have been hiding," Madden said as he watched the approaching heavy raiders on the screens. "Trying to hide beneath the cloud layer where we couldn't detect them."

"Have several of our squadrons intercept those heavy raiders," Reynolds ordered trying to keep track of the shifting battle glancing down at the operation's table. This now showed the location of the heavy raiders in relation to BSG 15. "We need to keep those nukes away from us!"

At that moment, a large explosion obliterated one of the Support Ships blinding the view screens. When the screen cleared all that remained of the Support Ship was a cloud of burning gases and debris.

"Olympia fired her MPL," Captain Jones reported stunned. "The Support Ship is gone, it was totally annihilated!

Aboard the Olympia Commander David Wells watched with a satisfied nod as the Support Ship exploded under the heavy fire of the Olympia's MPL. "Close with the second Support Ship, and fire the laser batteries." The second Support Ship was already under heavy fire from the two Columbia Two Battlestars. Several large explosions could be seen coming from the Support Ship as KEW rounds penetrated and blasted large holes in her hull and armor. Several fires could be seen raging deep inside the Cylon ship.

Aboard the Tauri Admiral Reynolds watched tensely as his vipers engaged the inbound heavy raiders. The attacking raiders fell back in mass and formed up around the inbound heavy raider squadron forming an almost unpenetratable wall of attacking craft.

"Frak," he muttered feeling worried looking over at Colonel Madden. "Those heavy raiders are going to fire their missiles in mass, we need to penetrate their raider screen. Send the rest of the squadrons in!"

The viper squadrons closed on the Cylon raiders firing missiles and their cannons at the closely compacted mass of Cylon ships. Numerous fireballs lit up the raider formation as raider after raider was blown apart. Return fire from the raiders was also taking out occasional vipers who ventured too close. Strangely enough, a number of the Cylon raiders turned suddenly away and seemed to be fleeing the battle.

"Maintain our flak screen," Admiral Clements ordered watching the Dradis screen as the wall of Cylon craft continued to close. "All KEW batteries continue to fire on the Basestar. I want that ship destroyed!" He could see on the Dradis that some of the weapons fire from the vipers was finally penetrating the Cylon raider defensive wall and hitting the heavy raiders. He wondered why some of the raiders seemed to be leaving the scene of battle. It wasn't a great number, perhaps forty to fifty raiders, but it was a curious development.

"Twelve heavy raiders confirmed destroyed," Lieutenant Everson reported as he scanned his information feeds. "Twenty heavy raiders destroyed," he continued. "I have inbound nuclear missile launch from the heavy raiders! I repeat we have inbound nuclear missiles. Dradis count is 62 missiles inbound." A warning alarm could be heard going off in the CIC as nuclear ordinance was detected and the threat level rose.

"Vipers are trying to take them out," Colonel Madden reported as numerous vipers turned and took off in pursuit of the missiles. "They are trying to engage them with their own interceptor missiles."

"Lock down the ship," Admiral Reynolds ordered tight-lipped knowing they probably wouldn't be able to get them all. "Close all emergency blast doors."

Throughout the Tauri, hatches slammed shut and huge blast doors slid down sealing off entire sections of the ship.

"Vipers are still in pursuit," Madden reported as he stayed on his mini com talking to the squadron leaders. "Vipers are engaging the inbound missiles with interceptor missiles. The missiles are targeted on the Solaria and us!"

"Twelve missiles destroyed by vipers, eighteen missiles destroyed by vipers, missiles entering flak suppression field," Lieutenant Everson reported as the inbound missiles began to vanish from his screen." Two missiles have penetrated," his voice was cut off as two huge explosions rocked the Tauri.

Several consoles exploded in a shower of brilliant sparks and several crewmembers were thrown violently to the floor of the CIC. Smoke began to fill the room. Damage control personnel hurried to extinguish several small fires in the CIC. Emergency ventilation fans kicked in drawing out the smoke.

"Decompression in sections 2 and 6, frames 7 through 15 damaged. Defensive turrets 4, 12, and 16 destroyed," the damage control officer reported. "Fires reported in sections 3 and 4, fire suppression being initiated. Repair teams and medical teams in route. The blast doors to the affected area held sir and the reactive armor absorbed most of the blast."

"Several nukes hit the Solaria also," Colonel Madden reported as he listened to the damage reports over his mini com.

"Continue to fire on that Basestar," Admiral Reynolds ordered clenching his teeth feeling angry that the Cylons had been able to mount a successful attack against the two Battlestars. "Contact Commander Livingston I want the Solaria's damage report!"

On the main view screen, the Cylon Basestar was a battered wreck. Fires raged out of control and huge holes covered its surface where impact rounds from the KEW Batteries had penetrated deep into the ship's interior. Her firing was becoming more sporadic as numerous systems failed and missile tubes were destroyed. Very few missiles were now being launched.

"Put two nukes into that ship," Admiral Clements ordered as he gazed at one of the view screens, which showed the burning Cylon ship.

Two heavy missiles streaked away from the Tauri and flew almost unhindered through the Basestar's light defensive fire to impact on the Basestar. Two huge fiery explosions covered the view screen, when it cleared up all that remained was a debris field of glowing gas and twisted metal.

"Sir Commander Livingston reports that the Solaria took two nukes practically on top of each other to his Beta landing bay cracking the reactive armor shielding and depressurizing part of the bay. The bay is heavily damaged and has been shut down. He estimates at least three to six hours to get it back into operation," Colonel Madden reported. "His casualty figures are over 120 dead or missing."

"Frak," Admiral Reynolds said as he saw the second Support Ship explode under the withering fire of the Olympia and the two Columbia Two Battlestars. "Order our vipers to finish mopping up the raiders. As soon as the last raider is gone, General Abramson can begin his assault. Have our two Defender Class Gunstars, the Oracle and Therms, attached to the Solaria to give her additional defensive fire if she needs it while her repairs are underway. She may need it shortly if Admiral Clements is correct and this is all just one big trap. From the way the Cylon ships stayed and fought, instead of jumping away and the way those heavy raiders attacked, I am pretty sure he is correct."

Admiral Reynolds had not expected the heavy damage the Solaria had suffered to her landing bay, nor the successful nuclear strike against his own Battlestar. The Cylons had wanted to inflict some damage to his fleet at any cost. They had sacrificed almost all their raiders and heavy raiders to get the nuclear missiles in against the Tauri and Solaria. They were bound to follow it up with a major fleet attack. Fortunately, the fighting ability of both ships was unimpaired with most or all of their weapons still intact.

A few minutes later, the last remaining raider was blasted out of space by the viper squadrons.

"Sir, General Abramson reports that the Gideon has taken up position and is transmitting the nuke disarming codes to the surface. The Chirion is also ready. The two Marine Assault Ships have taken up positions behind them," the Exec reported. "We are ready to begin the ground landings."

"What are our viper losses?" Admiral Reynolds asked looking at his Exec. He knew that a lot of pilots had lost their lives. You don't take out over a 1,000 raiders and heavy raiders without casualties.

"114 vipers lost another 82 damaged," Madden reported grimly.

"Frak that really hurts us with the vipers. What about the pilots?" Admiral Reynolds asked.

"We are picking up 38 emergency beacons," Colonel Madden reported. "Rescue raptors have already been launched."

"Let's get our vipers back in and refueled and rearmed. I want all raptors armed with interceptor missiles," Admiral Reynolds ordered. "I'm afraid this is only the beginning and we are going to need ever raptor and viper we have!"

Down on the surface of Celeen 2, Lieutenant Gibbs had finally succeeded in breaking into one of the new buildings. While the building was not large, he almost passed out from fear when he saw what it contained. "Get Colonel Jacobson now!" he ordered one of the marines standing next to him.

Lieutenant Gibbs looked at the large nuclear device that sat before him. On its LED control panel brilliant red letters formed the word armed. It was not counting down, but Lieutenant Gibbs knew that it could at any moment. He wondered just what the fraking Cylons were up to. From the reports, these new buildings were in every compound, he was sure they all contained nukes!

It didn't take long for Colonel Jacobson to arrive. The Colonel looked at the nuclear weapon with deep concern. "Now we know why the Cylon Centurions left." It was at that moment that the words on the deadly weapon changed from armed to disarmed. "What the frak," the Colonel muttered surprised. Several loud explosions from outside attracted his attention, and Lieutenant Gibbs stepped outside looking up.

"Sir, we have a large ship descending and it's launching Nomad Assault shuttles and what looks like Archangel Bombers. It's also firing on the Cylon positions," Lieutenant Gibbs reported excitedly as he stepped back inside the building. "I have never seen a ship like this one before. It looks Colonial, but I'm not sure what class it is."

Colonel Jacobson stepped outside and looked up at the huge ship hovering about ten kilometers overhead. "That my son is a Marine Assaultstar," he said with awe and stunned surprise. "They were retired over 40 years ago."

Another Assaultstar could be seen hovering higher up above the nearer one. The sky was now full of descending shuttles and bombers. The bombers were streaking off to attack the Cylon positions. Occasional Cylon missiles could be seen streaking up toward the two giant ships but they were almost nonchalantly blown out of the sky by the ship's massive point defensive systems. For a moment Colonel Jacobson felt a tear form in his eye, his knees felt weak as he realized that their captivity was about to come to an end. They had survived. The marines were coming!


	27. Chapter 27

**NINTH BATTLESTAR GROUP ABOVE PICON**

Admiral Stockwell looked at the main view screen, which showed the Assaultstars Demetrius and Delphi descending toward the planet. Already General Collins had transmitted the nuclear disarming codes to the surface.

"What is our current fleet status?" he asked his Exec.

"One Cylon Basestar destroyed as well as the two Support Ships," his Exec reported. "The other Cylon Basestar jumped away, but it was heavily damaged. We lost the Gunstars Scorpius and Artemis from nuclear attacks by the heavy raiders. The Columbia Two Battlestar Pandora reports moderate damage from three nuclear missile strikes. She is still operational and they are working on repairs. We also lost 148 vipers and another 44 damaged. We are picking up 28 emergency beacons and have launched rescue raptors. Total fleet personnel lost around 1,800 with another 420 injured."

"Frak, they hurt us with that damn nuclear strike," Admiral Stockwell said shaking his head. "I just spoke to Admiral Reynolds and they did the same to him. Fortunately, Admiral Reynolds didn't lose any ships, but we faced double the number of heavy raiders and missiles he did. "Get our vipers refueled and rearmed. This is only the beginning."

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR **

**OUTSIDE OF THE PICON SYSTEM**

James Cavil looked with satisfaction at the reports he had just received. The humans were right where he wanted them. Not only that, but they had managed to damage and destroy several of the Colonial ships with their nuke attack. A number of their vipers had also been eliminated.

"Some of our raiders turned away from the engagement," Simon commented with his hands in the information stream and his eyes partially closed as he studied the data. "Nearly 90 raiders fled and refused to fight."

"Don't allow them to refuel," James spoke contemptuously. "They will learn that if they don't fight they have no where to go!"

"Two Basestars and four Support Ships sacrificed just to bait your trap!" Melissa said angrily staring icily at Cavil. "Why couldn't they have pulled out when the humans arrived? They didn't need to be sacrificed! We have no resurrection facility anymore, all of our brothers and sisters on those Basestars and Support Ships died!"

"Because they damaged the human fleet and destroyed a lot of their vipers. They were not expecting us to sacrifice our raiders and heavy raiders like we did. It allowed us to take out several of their Gunstars and damage their Battlestars," James replied with a savage smile ignoring Melissa's anger. "Now it's our turn." He turned away and gave the order to the Centurion standing close by his side. "Take us in."

**FIFTEENTH BATTLESTAR GROUP IN ORBIT AROUND CELEEN 2**

Admiral Reynolds felt his heart skip a beat when the Cylon fleet jumped into Picon space between the two Colonial fleets.

"18 Basestars and 36 Support Ships detected," the Dradis operator reported with a slight quiver in his voice." There were numerous large red threat icons on his Dradis screen. He hadn't seen this many Cylon ships since the battle of Virgon, and at Virgon, the Cylons had won!

"We were right," Colonel Madden commented glancing down at the operation's table, which was beginning to show the current tactical situation. "It is a trap!"

"Launch all vipers and raptors," Admiral Reynolds ordered sizing up the situation. "They are to take up a defensive position between the Cylon fleet and us. Raptors are free to fire missiles at targets of opportunity. When all their missiles have been expended, they are to return to their respective ships to be rearmed and sent back out immediately. Order all Battlestars to form up into diamond defensive formation alpha that will allow us to overlap our defensive fire. Attach the Assault Gunstars Zeus and Mars to the Olympia. Inform Commander Wells he is to seek out targets of opportunity."

**NINTH BATTLESTAR GROUP IN ORBIT AROUND PICON**

Admiral Stockwell looked at the assembled Cylon fleet with worry. This was larger then what they had expected. It was almost over kill on the part of the Cylons. "Launch vipers and raptors; inform Commander Stokes aboard the Warstar Athena that the Assault Gunstars Hesphaestus and Hestia have been attached to his command. He is to engage targets of opportunity as planned in the mission op."

Aboard the Cylon Command Basestar James Cavil pressed a large red button sending the detonation signal to the waiting nukes planted on the surfaces of Picon and Celeen 2. On the main view screen he looked expectantly at Celeen 2 waiting for the tell all signatures of nuclear explosions. After a few moments, he pressed the button again and still received no reaction from the nukes. "Frak," he muttered angrily his gaze moving over to Simon. "What's wrong with the nukes?"

"They have been disarmed," Simon reported as he scanned the information in the data stream where both his hands resided. "They can't be reset for ten hours. It's part of their failsafe system."

"How the frak did that happen!" James demanded glaring accusingly at Lisa and Melissa.

"Who knows?" Melissa replied with a defiant look in her eyes. "We still have our fleet, and the Colonials are hopelessly out numbered."

James turned back to his command screen still fuming. "Divide the fleet and launch the raiders as planned. We will take care of these Colonial ships once and for all. They are too far into their marine landing process to abort, they have to stay and fight. I will find out what happened to the nukes later, and I can promise you there will be consequences if I find out anybody here was involved!"

The Cylon fleet divided into two sections. Nine Basestars and 18 Support Ships turned and headed respectively for the ninth and fifteenth Battlestar Groups. Unseen by the Cylons, two raptors jumped out of Picon and Celeen 2 orbit heading for Admiral Clements.

**COMBINED DEMETER AND KOBOLAN FLEET**

Admiral Stone watched the latest information being transmitted to the Aires from the Silent Searcher. He could see the two Battlestar Groups already in orbit around Picon and Celeen 2. But what really intrigued him was the large Colonial force of ships setting less then forty million kilometers from his own ships.

"That one ship is massive," Commander Davis commented looking at the massive power signatures the Silent Seeker's sensors had detected. "What the frak is it?"

"I don't know," Admiral Stone replied staring curiously at the sensor readings of the mysterious ship.

"That has to be Admiral Clement's command ship," Major Strickland added his eyes wide in amazement at the power readings the Silent Seeker was detecting on her sensors.

"What are your orders sir?" Commander Davis asked.

"Bring the fleet to Condition One and spin up the FTL drives," Admiral Stone ordered. "We will wait until Admiral Clements commits the rest of his fleet and then see where we can be of the most assistance. If we time this just right we might just be able to wipe this Cylon fleet completely out."

"Admiral Clements will be one very surprised Admiral when he sees us and the Kobolans," Major Strickland commented with an excited smile. "We will be the last thing that the Admiral or the Cylons will be expecting!"

**PICON AND CELEEN 2 **

**BSG 9 AND BSG 15**

Admiral Reynolds watched as the Cylons closed with his fleet. The vipers made contact first carving a path deep into the Cylon raider formation, leaving numerous fireballs from exploding raiders in their wake. In moments, the raiders and vipers were locked in deadly combat. The raptors stayed back and fired interceptor missile after missile at inbound raiders that managed to penetrate the viper screen blowing them steadily out of space. It wouldn't take them long to use up all their missiles and then they would have to return to their respective Battlestars to rearm.

"Detach a squadron of vipers to support the Olympia," Admiral Reynolds ordered as he saw Commander Wells closing on the Cylon fleet and a number of Cylon raiders veering off towards the three Colonial ships.

"Raiders are breaking through our defensive wall," Colonel Madden reported watching the Dradis screen. "Numerous raiders inbound; there are also some heavy raiders with nukes mixed in! There are just too many of them sir! Frak, we are starting to lose a lot of vipers!"

Admiral Reynolds watched as the Cylons pushed back his defending vipers. Just like Virgon with Admiral Nagala, Admiral Reynolds thought calmly recalling that climatic battle and how it had ended, he was ready to die if need be. He just prayed Admiral Clements made it in time to save his command from total annihilation.

On the right side of the fleet the Olympia surged forward through the Cylon raiders covered by her screen of vipers and the two Gunstars, a moment later her MPL discharged with the reddish blue energy beam striking a Cylon Basestar. The Basestar keeled over losing power and coming to a dead stop with two of her spines broken off and slowly disintegrating. Additional explosions could be seen where the deadly beam had struck. The two Gunstars moved in for the kill launching heavy missiles and firing their bow KEW batteries. More explosions raked the Cylon Basestar tearing it apart.

Yes, thought Admiral Reynolds as he watched on the Dradis, go for the Basestars Commander Wells, no point in wasting your time with the Support Ships.

"Cylon raiders in weapons range," Captain Jones reported. "Cylon capital ships nearing engagement range."

"Initiate suppression fire all ships," Admiral Reynolds ordered as the Cylon capital ships came within maximum weapons range. "All ships are weapons free, concentrate on the Basestars!"

James Cavil looked gloatingly as the human viper line was overrun, and his Basestars and Support Ships reached optimal weapons range of the Colonial warships. They would be overwhelmed just as Admiral Nagala was at Virgon. He would prove to his fellow Cylons that he had been right all along. A sudden flash on the left side of his screen drew his attention and he saw that one of his Basestars had been disabled. It was under heavy attack from two Colonial Gunstars and a Warstar, and then the Basestar disappeared in a massive explosion.

"It's one of the Warstars with the MPL," Simon reported scanning the Warstar that was on his screens.

"Take it out immediately," James ordered letting his rage show. This ship had caused enough damage already. "Send in enough squadrons of raiders to overwhelm it."

Admiral Stockwell looked at the Dradis screen with growing concern as his fleet was pushed back slowly but steadily toward Picon. His viper line was leaking like a sieve and already inbound missiles from the Cylon Basestars were hitting his ships. He saw one of the Cylon Support Ships vanish as the Athena hit it with an MPL blast. I bet the Cylons noticed that, he thought. Come on Admiral Clements, where are you?

Aboard the Tauri Admiral Reynolds flinched as the ship rocked severely. "What was that?" he asked as his screens went momentarily blank with static.

"A tactical nuke slipped past our suppression fire," Captain Jones replied. We are intercepting a massive amount of Cylon missiles from their heavy raiders and Basestars."

"Minor damage to frame 32," the damage control officer reported. "The reactive armor absorbed most of the blast."

"Two more nukes just hit the Solaria," Colonel Madden reported grim faced. "One of them was in the ten megaton range. She has lost her main energizer and is defensive only. Her main KEW batteries have been disabled and Commander Livingston reports they may have to abandon her; they have some major fires raging out of control. Their only power is coming from their secondary energizer. They are working on the Primary but he doesn't know if they will have time to complete repairs."

Aboard the Cylon Command Basestar, James stared with near maniacal satisfaction as he watched the Solaria burn. "We have them, they can't run, and we have them out gunned. This is the end of the human fleet. Order our heavy raiders in to finish off the Solaria!"

It was at that moment that Admiral Clements jumped into Picon space in between the two Cylon fleets. After about 20 seconds, the Dradis screens and view screens came on line showing him the carnage taking place. Admiral Clements took one look at the Dradis screen quickly assessing the situation. Both the ninth and fifteenth Battlestar Groups were being hard pressed with numerous missile strikes visible on their ships. It looked like the Battlestar Solaria was out of action and dead in space.

"Order our vipers to launch and assist Admiral Stockwell. Detach the two Warstars assigned to the Athena. All raptors are to attack the raiders engaging Admiral Reynolds. Detach the two Warstars assigned to the Olympia. All Firestars are to attack the fleet engaging Admiral Stockwell. Remaining Warstars and Battlestars will stay with us. Turning to Commander Cain. "Take us in let's see how the Cylons respond to the Aurora."

On board the Cylon Command Basestar James Cavil looked in shock at the Dradis screen and the new ships it was showing. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Those ships couldn't exist, they just couldn't!

"We are picking up the Nova Class Commandstar Aurora, two Jupiter Class Battlestars the Magellan and Odyssey, 22 Firestars, and 10 Warstars. They have launched vipers and raptors and are rapidly closing on our position," Simon reported in dismay. "Their capital ships are rapidly closing and are moving into engagement range!"

"The Aurora, but she was decommissioned. We sabotaged her so she would be sent to the Boneyards and taken apart, so were the Magellan and Odyssey," Cavil protested loudly his voice trembling with anger. "Those ships can't be here!"

"Evidently they didn't decommission her," Melissa replied pointing at the view screen, which showed the massive ship. "That ship is here and we have nothing to compare to the Aurora. She is the most powerful warship ever built by the Colonies. That entire fleet is from the Boneyards! That gives them an effective fleet of 55 ships including BSG 9 and BSG 15."

"The odds aren't so great now are they James," Lisa said in a biting voice, her eyes displaying anger. "They almost match us ship for ship!"

It was at that moment that the Aurora fired two of her four MPL cannons. A Basestar on the far side of the Cylon formation exploded in flame.

"What the frak was that?" James asked stunned at the sudden turn of events as the Basestar vanished from his screens. Just a moment ago, the humans were his for the taking!

"An MPL blast," Kelvin Doral replied studying his screens. "The Aurora is equipped with four massive MPL cannons plus what looks like some type of heavy laser batteries. We can't stand up to that kind of firepower. The energy readings are clear off the scale of anything we have ever seen before."

"Send our raiders and heavy raiders in, we must destroy that ship, use our nukes!" James said heatedly seeing his plans being derailed. "Order our ships to press the attack; we must destroy the human fleet!"

**COMBINED DEMETER AND KOBOLAN FLEET**

"We have several stealth raptors reporting in," Commander Davis reported as he listened intently to the pilots on his mini com. "We have identified the large ship, it's the Aurora!"

"Frak," Admiral Stone said in surprise. "Where did Clements find her? I thought she had been decommissioned several years ago."

"I have Admiral Murray on the com sir," Lieutenant Grace the com officer interrupted.

"Go ahead Admiral," Jason spoke over his mini com. "Do you have any idea where all these ships Admiral Clements has came from, especially the Aurora?"

"Yes sir," Admiral Murray replied. "From the Boneyards, all these ships are from the Boneyards! I knew that Admiral Anders was doing some work on other ships besides the ones placed under my command, but I had no idea just how many. The Aurora was kept on the far side of the Boneyards; I never actually went anywhere near her. They must have been working on her from the day she first arrived."

"More of Admiral Corman and Admiral Nagala's secret plans," Jason replied somehow not surprised.

Jason took a deep breath, this was the moment he had been waiting for, why they had returned to the Colonies, Admiral Clements was about to learn he was not alone. "All ships prepare to jump to the designated coordinates, maintain full stealth mode. We will jump into the Picon system, then move in under stealth and take out all the Cylon Basestars, Support Ships will be our secondary targets. Good luck and good hunting!"

**COLONIAL AND CYLON FLEETS BETWEEN PICON AND CELEEN 2**

Sarah watched closely as her three squadrons closed on the Cylon fleet attacking Admiral Stockwell. Mathew flew close by just off her right wing. Raider squadrons were turning and falling back to meet the incoming squadrons of vipers. Each viper carried one short-range tactical nuke. With any luck, they would be able to launch their missiles before they had to engage the Cylon raiders.

In moments, they were in amongst the Cylon capital ships and the missiles were away. Numerous small nuclear explosions lit up the Cylon ships staggering their fleet from the unexpected attack. Then the raiders were upon the vipers.

"Black Dagger Squadron stay in the center. Blue to the left and Red to the right, let's take them!" Sarah spoke calmly over her squadron mini com.

Sarah squeezed her gun trigger and smiled satisfyingly as a raider exploded in a ball of flame under her fire. All through the Cylon formation, raiders and vipers vanished as they fell into a massive dogfight. Brilliant explosions lit up the space around Sarah as vipers and raiders alike exploded. Sarah pulled up sharply and dove down toward an unsuspecting raider with Mathew following closely. Pressing a button on her control stick a small missile left her viper striking the Cylon raider on its right wing destroying the craft in a crimson ball of fire.

"Good shooting Sarah," Mathew commented as he lined up a raider in his sites and squeezed off some rounds into his target destroying it. The two flew on seeking other targets.

"The Warstars Argo and Acropolis have formed up with us," Commander Wells Exec reported aboard the Olympia as the two Warstars took up flanking positions.

"Excellent order our two Gunstars to return to the Solaria and give her additional covering fire," David ordered knowing that the Solaria was in bad shape. "Now let's go kick some Cylon ass. Target the nearest Support Ship and fire the MPL. We will hit each Support Ship with a single MPL blast and the Argo and the Acropolis can finish them off. Prepare to make an attack run down the Cylon line. Avoid the Basestars, the Aurora and her escorts will handle them."

Aboard the Aurora, Admiral Clements watched the entire battle unfold as they assaulted the Cylon line. They needed to push their element of surprise. The Cylon fleet was badly out of position. He snapped more orders and instructions to the two tactical officers seated to his left and they passed the orders on to the designated tactical operators who ensured that the order was carried out. He had both Jupiter Class Battlestars and six Warstars supporting the Aurora.

The viper strike against the Cylon fleet had caused a lot of damage. They had targeted the Cylon's landing bays with their small nukes hoping to decrease their ability to rearm and refuel their raiders. The Cylons still had them outnumbered and outgunned with massive superiority in raiders, but they were unprepared for the sudden attack by the Colonial ships and were out of position due to their attacks on BSG 9 and BSG 15.

The Cylons were trying to adjust their formation and reposition their raider squadrons, but that would take some time, time Admiral Clements fully intended to take advantage of.

"Firing MPL cannons" Commander Cain reported as another Basestar came under their fire.

The six Warstars with the Aurora were also firing their main KEW batteries as well as heavy missiles at the Cylon Basestar. The two Jupiter Class Battlestars were focusing on raider suppression with their viper squadrons. In scant moments, the Basestar exploded into a million pieces as its meager defenses were overwhelmed by the withering fire from the Colonial ships.

"They have no defense against the Aurora," Commander Cain said emphatically as the Cylon ship vanished from the Dradis. "They can't handle the MPL blasts that we can deliver. Also the Warstars, this is what they were designed for, to go head to toe against Cylon Basestars. They have the heavy armor and the firepower to handle anything the Cylons can through at them!"

Aboard the Tauri, Admiral Reynolds smiled wolfishly as the Cylons reeled from the sudden attack and were trying desperately to adjust their position. "Order the Battlestars Altair and Spica to form up with us, the Gunstars are to remain behind and cover the Solaria and the ground landing. Two viper squadrons will remain to cover the Solaria, the rest with us. Target the nearest Cylon Basestar!"

Aboard the Cylon Command Basestar, the Cylon Command Group watched in shock as the Colonial fleet rushed to engage them. "Are they mad," James demanded. We will destroy them, they are too heavily outnumbered!"

"Perhaps," Simon replied doubtfully. "But they have one fraken lot of firepower with the Aurora and those Warstars. Those Warstars were originally built to take out capitol ships, our capital ships! They are heavily armed and armored. They will not be easy to take out. And we have nothing to compare to the Aurora in firepower!"

"Not only that, but our fleet is out of position," Kelvin Doral pointed out gesturing at the main Dradis screen. "We are caught between their fleets; we are at a tactical disadvantage! We may have a superior advantage in raiders, but they now have the advantage in ship firepower!"

"We also have no way to rearm and refuel most of our raiders and heavy raiders," Lisa commented with growing concern in her voice. "The human vipers damaged many of our ships landing bays with that initial nuclear attack. They did to us what our heavy raiders originally did to them!"

"Order Basestars C82, C71, C76, C42, and C39 to advance and engage the Aurora. They are to destroy her at all costs. Admiral Clements has to be on board the Aurora, if we destroy her we can end this once and for all!" James ordered as he watched the screens as two more Support Ships exploded under the withering fire of the Olympia and her battle group. "Order our heavy raiders to attack the Olympia and her two escorts. Use suicide runs if necessary. We must destroy those ships."

"Our raiders will not like that order," Melissa stated emphatically her eyes meeting Cavil's. "They can not resurrect. They will not take kindly to being asked to commit suicide. They may not obey!"

"Frak what they think," James roared in anger glaring at Melissa. "Order them to attack; we must destroy the human fleet!"

Aboard the Battlestar Picon, Admiral Stockwell watched as the Cylons tried to readjust their formation to meet the incoming Firestars. With satisfaction, he saw the two Warstars assigned to the Athena form up with her, and the three promptly take out a Cylon Support Ship. "Take us in. All ships to form up with us except the Gunstars, they are to stay behind and cover the ground landings. Let's take out some Cylon Basestars!"

Aboard the Aurora Admiral Clements watched as a wall of raiders followed by five Basestars closed on his flagship. "All ships begin raider suppression fire. Stay watchful of nuclear ordinance," Admiral Clements ordered his eyes watching the current status of the battle. This was what the Aurora was designed for, what made her special. Clements could control the entire battle from her CIC.

Commander Cain nodded as he brought the ship around to face the five incoming Basestars, "Fire MPL cannons at the nearest Basestar," he ordered standing next to the tactical officer. KEW batteries to target Basestar followed by heavy missiles. I want that first Basestar off my screens!"

"Warstars independent fire on incoming Basestars," Admiral Clements ordered the six Warstars that were flanking the Aurora with three on each side. The two Jupiter Class Battlestars were trailing slightly behind and above giving the other warships room to maneuver.

Aboard her viper, Sarah watched as the Cylon ships closed with the incoming Firestars. Raiders were everywhere and she had lost count of how many raiders her three squadrons had destroyed. She had also lost a number of pilots from the overwhelming number of Cylon raiders. They seemed to be everywhere.

"I got another one," Cindy said exuberantly over the com. "Frak there are so many of them!"

"Stay focused Lieutenant," Captain Taggert's calm voice came over the com. "All vipers stay within support range of the squadron. Don't get pulled out too far where you can't get support if you need it. Stay with your wingman. If you lose your wingman team up with someone else immediately!"

"I have three Cylon raiders in bound," Lieutenant Boyle's panicked voice came over the com. "I lost my wingman to a Cylon raider just a minute ago!"

Lieutenant Everett, Lieutenant Stinson go support Lieutenant Boyles. Everyone listen up; if you have lost your wingman join up with another pair. Don't go in alone!" Captain Taggert reiterated.

Sarah nodded as she listened to the chatter. So far, her three squadrons were performing as they had been trained. A Cylon raider cut in front of her bearing down on two unsuspecting vipers. She squeezed off a missile and watched satisfyingly as the raider was blown into a hundred burning pieces.

"Good shooting Sarah," Mathew commented over the com.

Aboard the Aurora Admiral Clements watched as another Cylon Basestar exploded and a second was burning. The Warstars were pounding the Cylon ships with heavy KEW rounds, which were tearing the Cylon Basestars apart. Round after round struck the Cylon ships tearing massive jagged holes in the armor and penetrating deep inside to the sensitive systems inside the ships. Massive fires could be seen burning and explosions dotted the outer hulls.

"Incoming raiders are penetrating our defensive fire," Commander Cain reported suddenly. "Laser cannons target inbound raiders," he ordered the tactical officer.

The four heavy laser clusters began firing eliminating raiders in brilliant fiery explosions. One hit from the powerful laser was all it took to eliminate a raider.

The ships shook and the lights flickered as the Aurora was hit by several heavy missiles, none were nuclear.

"Minor damage to frames two and seven. Turrets sixteen and twelve out of action," damage control reported.

"Inbound nuke, inbound nuke," the Dradis officer yelled as a warning alarm sounded. "We can't get it!"

"Brace for impact," Commander Cain ordered as the Aurora pitched slightly and the lights went out only to come back on a moment later. "Minor damage to the Beta landing bay," Cain reported scanning his screens. "The nuke hit the outside center of the bay. We have several small fires burning. We will have to shut the bay down for repairs," he listened to his damage control officer for a few moments. "Damage Control says they can have the bay fully operational in about 20 minutes."

"Very well," Admiral Clements replied. "What about our combat capability?"

"All systems still on line," the tactical officer reported. "We lost six defensive turrets on the bay, but the MPL cannons, laser clusters, our KEW batteries, and missile tubes are still operational."

"Target the next Basestar Commander Cain," Admiral Clements ordered as he watched the battle on his screens.

Aboard the Command Basestar James watched as the Aurora took a direct hit from a ten-megaton nuke. "We got her," he said jubilantly as the Aurora momentarily vanished in a brilliant flash of nuclear fire to only reappear moments later still bearing down on the attacking Basestars.

"We hit her Beta landing bay," Kelvin Doral reported reading the scans from the attacking Basestars. "We show some damage but she is continuing to attack. On the screens another Basestar blew apart under the Aurora's powerful MPL cannons and the blistering fire from her attending Warstars."

"Frak!" James screamed in rage at the screen clenching his fists. "Order our ships to concentrate on the Warstars and the Firestars; at least we can decrease the size of their fleet!"

"James we need to withdraw," Melissa said annoyed and frightened at what she was seeing on the screens. "We are taking too many casualties. We don't have the ability to download anymore. Cylons are dying; too many of us are dying! We are getting numerous requests from the other Basestars and Support Ships to withdraw. They don't want to die!"

"Yes, we need to withdraw now!" Lisa added her voice to Melissa's. "Withdraw while we still have a fleet left!"

On the screen, Cavil watched as a Firestar vanished under the fire of a deluge of nuclear missiles from a Basestar. A Warstar was burning and had dropped out of formation with the Aurora. Raiders and heavy raiders were swooping in to finish her off.

"No," James replied defiantly folding his arms across his chest. "We end this here and now, they are losing ships to!"

Aboard the Aurora, Admiral Clements watched with anguish as the Warstar Mercury was pounded by Cylon raiders until she vanished in a massive explosion. The Cylons had managed to get two nukes through her defenses cracking her reactive armor. Numerous rail gun hits from strafing raiders had also heavily damaged the Warstar to the point that she had become nearly defenseless. Reports from the Firestars indicated that the Firestar Eternal had already met a similar fate.

"Continue our attack on the Basestars," Admiral Clements ordered determinedly as he watched the damage steadily mount to his fleet.

Admiral Stockwell was attacking his second Basestar when he saw two brilliant explosions light up one of the view screens.

"Two nukes just hit the Battlestar Marathon," his Exec reported with worry in his voice. "Cylon raiders are closing."

"Have our vipers cover her. Contact Commander Nathan and see what his status is," Admiral Stockwell commanded staring worriedly at a view screen which showed the damaged Columbia 2 Class Battlestar. "Tell him to drop back to the Gunstars,"

It was at that moment that two more nukes hit the Marathon and a massive explosion lit up space. When the view screen cleared, all that was left of the Marathon was a slowly expanding field of debris and burning gas.

"Marathon is off the board," his Exec reported quietly as they stared in shock at the screen.

Down on the surface of Celeen 2 Colonel Jacobson watched as the first Nomad Assault shuttles began to land and platoons of marines began to pour out. Up in space he could still see numerous explosions lighting up the night sky. Whatever was going on up there was major, he realized. The explosions were almost too numerous to count. He knew that a lot of ships had to be involved; he wondered where Admiral Clements could have possibly found so many ships. He just hoped the explosions he was seeing were not the Cylons destroying Admiral Clement's rescue force!

"Admiral, first reports from Celeen 2 indicate that the nuclear charges have indeed been disarmed," the com officer reported as he monitored the ongoing ground operations. "The same is being reported at Picon. Our ground forces are currently engaging the Cylon forces on the ground. They report light resistance so far."

"The Cylons expected their nukes to destroy our ground forces," Commander Cain stated. "They were not prepared for a major ground assault!"

Aboard the Olympia Commander Wells winced as his ship took another hit from a Cylon nuclear missile. Already the damage control board was covered with numerous red and amber icons indicating damage to his ship. He knew that the other two Warstars with him had also suffered some damage. However, he knew that the Cylons had suffered even more.

"Argo reports that her main KEW batteries are disabled," his Exec reported. "They took a nuclear strike just a moment ago from a heavy raider right below their engineering decks. They are having power fluctuations from their main energizer."

"Order her to drop back to the Gunstars," David ordered as he watched the screen as two more non-nuclear missiles hit the Argo. "Order the Acropolis to move in close to give her support against those raiders."

"Sir," Commander Addison reports they have lost their main energizer. "They have major fires burning near the Tylium storage bunkers. He is abandoning ship. He recommends that we move away."

"Frak," David said with concern. "Order the Acropolis to pick up the survivors." On the screen, shuttles and raptors began to go back and forth between the two ships, but after just a few minutes, the Argo suddenly began to pick up speed and accelerate away from the other two Warstars.

"Get me Commander Addison," David barked to the com officer.

"Sir, he reports that the fires are too bad and the majority of his crew can't make it to safety," the com officer reported.

On the screen, the Argo approached a Cylon Basestar, which was now beginning to pour numerous missiles into the approaching Warstar. Just moments before striking the Basestar the Argo exploded as the Tylium bunkers erupted in a massive burning explosion tearing the ship apart. The remnants of the exploded Warstar slammed into the Basestar staggering it.

"Target that Basestar," David ordered grimly. "The least we can do for the Argo is finish what she started.

Moments later the Olympia's MPL beam struck the Basestar and the Acropolis's KEW batteries quickly finished the Cylon ship off.

Aboard the Battlestar Picon, Admiral Stockwell watched as the Athena and her battle group finished off another Support Ship. However, the battle was a very costly one for the Colonials as well. Two more Firestars had been ravaged and abandoned by their crews. Between the Firestars and BSG 9, they had taken out four more Cylon Support Ships and two Basestars.

Aboard the Cylon Command Basestar James watched entranced like a moth circling a flame as more Colonial ships burned. Explosions littered space marking dying ships and exploding raiders and Colonial vipers.

"We must withdraw," Mark Conoy demanded as the Aurora blew apart the last of the five Basestars that had attacked her Battle Group. "We are losing too many ships. Particularly Basestars. If we lose anymore we won't be able to finish off Caprica!"

"Caprica!" James breathed heavily as he tore his gaze away from the screens and remembered the rest of the plan. Even as he thought about it, another Firestar and two more Cylon Support Ships vanished from the Dradis screen.

"No!" Melissa and Lisa said in unison glancing at each other. "We can't attack Caprica. We need to withdraw and repair our battle damage and come back and fight another day!"

"We need to attack Caprica," Simon chimed in nodding at James. "The Colonials are pinned down here with their rescue operation. They will not be able to support Caprica. This is our opportunity to destroy it once and for all!"

The other models joined in agreeing with Simon and Conoy, only Lisa and Melissa objected.

"Very well," James replied looking at the view screens. By destroying Caprica, he could take all meaning away from what the Colonials accomplished here at Picon. He would let them have this small victory, but it would cost them dearly at Caprica, a fair trade. "Order all raiders back to their ships. All ships to jump as soon as their raiders have landed. If they can't land on their own ships due to damaged landing bays they are to land on the nearest ships they can."

Aboard the Aurora, Commander Cain watched in surprise as the first Basestar spun up its FTL drive and vanished from the screen. "The Cylons are spinning up their FTL drives, the majority of their raiders are returning to their ships, they're jumping out."

"Order all vipers, raptors, and ships to continue the attack. I want as much damage done to the Cylon fleet as possible," Admiral Clements ordered as he scanned his screens.

A few minutes later, the last Cylon ship vanished from the screens as it activated its FTL drive. The last few raiders that had been left behind were rapidly eliminated.

**JOINT DEMETER AND KOBOLAN FLEET PICON ORBIT**

"They jumped out," Commander Davis reported in surprise. The joint fleet had positioned themselves in attack range of all the remaining Cylon Basestars. They were just about to fire their long-range KEW batteries when the Cylon ships began jumping away.

"Frak," Major Strickland complained in disappointment. They had positioned themselves where they could take out every single one of the Cylon Basestars.

Over the fleet com, Admiral Stone ordered all ships to spin up their FTL drives and return to their previous position where the Silent Seeker waited. He wanted to see where the Cylon ships had jumped to. Once that was determined, he would see about contacting Admiral Clements. He was disappointed also, one more minute and they would have destroyed the Cylon fleet!

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

Admiral Clements leaned back in his command chair a look of relief on his face. He hadn't been sure if the Cylons would withdraw or not. He had hoped they wouldn't risk losing so many of their Basestars. They had stayed longer then he had thought they would. He knew that the Colonial casualties would be heavy.

An hour later Admiral Clements knew the full status of the battle between the two fleets. They had destroyed 14 Cylon Basestars, 18 Cylon Support Ships, around 800 heavy raiders, and 6,200 regular Cylon raiders.

"That's a big part of the Cylon fleet," Commander Cain commented as he read off the estimated Cylon losses. "We hurt them, we hurt them bad!"

"What about our own losses?" Admiral Clements asked knowing that they would be quite high.

Commander Cain hesitated a moment as he read the report. "We lost the Battlestar Solaria, the Columbia Two Class Battlestars Pandora and Marathon, the Firestars, Eternal, Minotaur, Repulse, Osiris, Nathalie, Hibernia, and the Warstars Argo, Mercury, and Rigel, plus the Gunstars Artemis, and Scorpius. We also lost 1,200 vipers and 212 raptors."

"How many total crew? Admiral Clements asked quietly.

"Slightly over 18,000 confirmed dead, another 2,800 missing and around 4,000 injured," Commander Cain reported somberly. "We lost a lot of good people sir."

Admiral Clements closed his eyes for a moment knowing that the operation had been a success, but a very costly one. He paused for a moment before turning back to Commander Cain. "Very well Commander, prepare for the second half of the operation."

Clements pressed fleet Com Line Alpha and Admiral Stockwell came on line. "Admiral I am leaving BSG 9 to finish up the evacuation. I am taking BSG 15 as well as most of my command to Caprica. I am leaving you some of the damaged ships and taking the Canopus as well. That will leave you with the Picon, Two Columbia Two Class Battlestars, two Warstars, two Firestars, and six Gunstars, plus the Assaultstars and the Marine Assault ships. The Civilian passenger liners and the fleet personnel ships will be arriving in thirty minutes to begin ferrying people up off the surface. You know what your orders are."

"Yes sir," Admiral Stockwell replied, "and good luck at Caprica Admiral."

Turning to Commander Cain, he gave the order for the fleet to jump to Caprica. They were going to destroy the Cylon fleet currently in orbit around the planet. He wanted to hurt the Cylon fleet as much as possible while they had the advantage. Moments later the ships spun up their FTL drives and began to vanish one by one.

On the outskirts of the Picon system, the joint Demeter and Kobolan fleet jumped also. They had already seen on the Silent Seeker's sensors what was awaiting Admiral Clements at Caprica. This time, Admiral Stone swore, their timing would be better.

Down on Celeen 2 Major Clements and his group of survivors stumbled tiredly into a raptor that Colonel Jacobson had sent to their secret location. When Major Clements had introduced himself to the officer in charge of the raptor, the officer had turned pale when he heard the name. Holy frak he thought, Admiral Clements son!

_I have a reason for the joint Demeter and Kobolan fleet not contacting Admiral Clements or engaging the Cylon fleet. They will make their presence known in the next chapter. They have a very major and suprising role to play! Keep in mind, Admiral Reed knows where the Cylon home world is. There are only three more chapters left of Commandstar Aurora. Thank you for reading my story and for all the great reviews. It has made writing this a lot of fun._


	28. Chapter 28

**BATTLESTAR CAPRICA**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

Colonel Adams stood next to Commander Talon aboard the Valkyrie Class Battlestar Caprica as they both watched the Dradis screen expectantly. They knew that if Admiral Clements stayed on his planned time schedule, the attacks on Picon and Celeen 2 were well under way, if not already over. On the Dradis screen, the two Defense Satellites, and the Battle Station Indram floated in protective orbit above Caprica. Thirty smaller 200-meter defense satellites surrounded the three aiding in their defense.

On the Dradis, a squadron of vipers was visible as they moved around the Colonial fleet and the Defense Satellites on patrol. The vipers moved out as far as the smaller defense satellites and then back in around the ships of the defending fleet. The Colonial fleet attached to Caprica was in the center and directly below the Indram. The Jupiter Class Battlestar Cimitar, two Columbia Two Class Battlestars Archimedes and Medusa, and the five Gunstars Hera, Dionysus, Cygnus, Antlia, and the Triffid sat motionlessly awaiting their orders from the flagship the Caprica.

"What do you think Colonel, what will the Cylon fleet here do once Admiral Clements arrives with the rest of our fleet? Will they jump out or stay and fight?" Commander Talon asked looking at the other man raising his eyebrows slightly.

"I don't know," Colonel Adams replied gazing at a section of the Dradis screen that showed the current position of the Cylon fleet currently in orbit around Caprica.

The four Basestars and six Support Ships were far enough away from the Defense Satellites so as not to pose a danger, but close enough to be a constant reminder of their presence. Currently several squadrons of raiders were deployed in between the two forces. Fortunately, they were staying far enough away to avoid a confrontation between the two opposing forces.

"If Admiral Clements is successful at Picon, he will jump here, and we will destroy this portion of the Cylon fleet," Colonel Adams spoke looking around the busy CIC. "With the losses they suffer at Picon and the elimination of this fleet here, they may retreat from Caprica permanently. At least that's what we're hoping."

"What if they call in reinforcements when Admiral Clements arrives?" Colonel Stillwell the Exec asked. "The Cylons may not want to hand over Caprica so easily. They have a fraking lot of Centurions down on the surface!"

"What about Caprica, are they ready down there?" Commander Talon asked looking at one of the high definition screens that showed the seemingly peaceful blue and green colors of Caprica floating tranquilly beneath them. He knew that nearly eight million civilians were currently reported to be in and around the World Parks they were tasked with defending. Colonel Stillwell was correct; the Cylons had been landing Centurions almost non-stop since the resupply mission a number of months back.

"General Ashton has placed all of his troops on high alert," Colonel Adams replied switching his attention back to Commander Talon. "With the new training completed, he has nearly 100,000 marines under his command. All the raptors have been armed with interceptor missiles to knock down inbound nukes, and all missile defense batteries are manned and on line. His Archangel Bombers are armed and ready to hit Cylon positions if need be. They may launch a ground offensive to hurt us as much as possible once they realize their orbiting fleet has been eliminated or jumped away. General Ashton feels that he has the forces and air support to stop any major Cylon push."

"What about the civilian population?" Colonel Stillwell asked thinking about all the civilians they were protecting. He knew that a loft of people would be caught out in the open in any kind of Cylon attack. Even with successful resistance from the Colonial forces on the ground, some weapons could get through.

"The civilian population has been dispersed as widely as possible with almost 20 percent in makeshift underground shelters and even caves," Colonel Adams replied recalling the plan that General Ashton and his aides had worked out. "There are several major cave systems in several of the World Parks and we have crammed them full of supplies and set up defenses around the entrances. We have even deployed all the Nomad assault shuttles around the major civilian population centers to allow their turrets to be used to intercept incoming missiles. We are as ready as can be. I just hope it's enough, that's a lot of civilians we're trying to protect. If they launch a nuke we should be able to detect it and shoot it down."

On the Dradis screen, several new blips suddenly came into being followed by another and then even more. Colonel Adams felt relieved knowing that Admiral Clements had arrived even though it was far earlier then what he had expected. Then he felt a chill run down his back as the newly arrived icons on the Dradis screen turned a from a friendly green to a deadly and threatening red.

"Cylon fleet arriving," Captain Beck the Dradis officer reported as he monitored the incoming data. "Two Basestars and four Support Ships so far."

"What the frak is going on?" Commander Talon spoke taking several steps forward looking at the Dradis screen.

As the minutes passed, the Cylon fleet continued to emerge, after ten minutes the entire fleet was in orbit around Caprica a safe distance from the Colonial forces.

"What's the final tally on their ship count?" Commander Talon demanded as he stared at all the new red threat icons on the Dradis screen. He had never seen so many Cylon ships gathered in one place before. One of the high definition view screens placed on extreme magnification showed a Basestar floating threateningly in orbit. Its two Y shaped sets of spires slowly rotating and then coming to a stop locking firmly in place to the central hub. The Basestar looked deadly and ready to attack.

"Eight Basestars and 26 Support Ships in the new fleet," Captain Beck reported in a concerned voice as he checked the data on his screens.

"Sir, long range scans show battle damage to a number of the Cylons ships," Lieutenant Minsk the tactical officer reported. "It looks very recent."

"These ships must be from Picon!" Colonel Stillwell exclaimed, then looking confused he asked. "Why did they come here, where's Admiral Clements?"

Commander Talon and Colonel Adams stared at one another wondering just what this signified. Had the Cylons defeated Admiral Clements? Had the attack at Picon failed? What ever had happened they were now at a distinct tactical disadvantage against the Cylon fleet that was now in orbit.

Commander Talon tapped his mini com, which placed him in direct contact with Commander Starling of the Jupiter Class Battlestar Cimitar. "Commander Starling this is the largest gathering of Cylon ships since the battle of Virgon," Commander Talon began. "I want you to launch another viper squadron to join the current squadron we already have out on CAP.

"Do you think they will attack?" Commander Starling asked over the com.

"I don't think they would have assembled this many ships if they didn't plan on trying to take us out," Commander Talon replied. "I will be placing the fleet at Condition One immediately as well as the Defense Satellites. If the Cylons attack we will stay inside the Defense Satellites weapons coverage."

"What the frak does this mean?" Colonel Stillwell spoke his eyes wide as he stared at the view screen with the Cylon Basestar displayed on it. Several raiders could be seen exiting one of the ship's numerous launching bays.

"I don't know," Colonel Adams replied trying to think what they needed to do. He was Admiral Clements aide and a recommendation from him was the same thing as an order. Even to a higher-ranking officer. Can we contact Admiral Clements on one of our subspace frequencies?"

"Long range communications are down," Lieutenant Ash reported from his position at the com station. "The Cylons began jamming as soon as they jumped into the system."

"Contact Colonel Styles on the Indram," Colonel Adams ordered. "Have him begin jamming the Cylon frequencies. If we can't talk, then we need to make sure they can't either."

"Yes sir," Lieutenant Ash replied turning back to his com console to carry out the order.

"Commander Talon, we need to send a raptor to the Picon system to see what has happened!" Colonel Adams continued. "We need to know if this Cylon fleet defeated Admiral Clements or retreated from the battle."

"Prep a raptor and download the latest tactical data we have on this Cylon fleet," Commander Talon commanded speaking to Lieutenant Minsk, and then he looked at Colonel Stillwell with worry in his eyes. "I want that viper out of my landing bay yesterday; we need to know what happened to Admiral Clements!"

Commander Talon looked over the latest tactical data on the Cylon fleet and then activated his mini com. "All ships and Colonial units this is the flag," Commander Talon spoke in a calm steady voice. "All ships are to go to Condition One immediately. Battlestars Medusa and Archimedes I want each of you to launch an additional viper squadron for close in patrol around our ships. Colonel Styles you have control of the Indram as well as the two Defense Satellites, have your squadrons ready to launch to cover your command as needed. I want everyone to assume that a major Cylon attack is imminent. We are trying to ascertain what has happened to Admiral Clements, as soon as we have some concrete information we will pass it on."

"With the fleet they already had here that gives them 12 Basestars and 32 Support Ships," Colonel Adams stated not liking the odds as his gaze shifted to the operation's table, which was now displaying the current tactical situation. He could see increased tension in the CIC as everyone wondered just what the frak was going on. There was a lot of quiet conversation and questioning looks between the crew.

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

James Cavil stared hatefully at the waiting Colonial forces on his view screens and on the Dradis. His recent defeat at the hands of Admiral Clements was still stinging in the back of his mind. He wanted revenge and the Colonial forces defending Caprica were about to be on the receiving end of his unbridled anger. He finally had the forces he needed to wipe them from orbit. Once they were destroyed, the human forces on the ground would be at his mercy. Several well placed 50 mega-ton nukes would end the resistance on Caprica once and for all.

"Anything new," he demanded impatient to begin his attack. He was still angry at the other models for voting to withdraw from Picon. He felt that if they had persisted, they could have destroyed Clement's fleet or at least heavily damaged it.

He was also still highly aggravated about the nuclear charges on Picon and Celeen 2 not detonating. When this was over, he intended to get to the bottom of that fiasco! If he discovered that someone had betrayed him, that individual would pay dearly for his or her disobedience! If either Melissa or Lisa were involved, he would have the guilty party airlocked! Both of them had been real thorn in his side recently.

"No, the two Defense Satellites, the Battle Station, and the Colonial fleet are still where they are supposed to be. There have been no reinforcements," Kelvin Doral confirmed as he completed his scans of the Colonials. "They have launched several additional viper squadrons in response to our arrival."

"What is their estimated fighter strength?" Cavil demanded knowing that his raiders would soon be swarming the Colonial forces. He remembered well the lessons learned at Virgon. He would hold his Basestars and Support Ships back and weaken the Colonial defenses with his raiders. He would wear them down, then move in with his Basestars and use his nukes to finish them off.

"We estimate they have around 600 to 700 vipers," Simon replied his gaze moving to meet Cavil's demanding stare. "Not enough to be a serious threat."

"Our own raider strength?" James demanded gazing intently at Conoy.

"Sixteen thousand raiders and 1,700 heavy raiders," Mark Conoy replied as his hands moved slowly in the information stream seeking and finding the information he wanted. "We recovered most of the raiders from our own destroyed ships at Picon, so our bays are nearly full."

"Arm our heavy raiders with nukes; I want to finish this quickly," Cavil ordered as his eyes moved to a large view screen, which displayed the Valkyrie Class Battlestar Caprica sitting at the heart of the Colonial fleet formation. This ship used to be Admiral Clement's flagship, and he really wanted to see it destroyed. He would take great pleasure watching it burn in nuclear fire.

"A number of our raiders disobeyed your attack orders at Picon and Celeen 2," Melissa spoke suddenly walking over to stand close to James. "Those three Colonial stations will be very heavily defended. We will lose a many more of our raiders!"

"Without the hope of resurrection, they might not fight as hard as they are capable of," Lisa added stepping to Melissa's side confronting Cavil. "Not only that, but many of our ships are damaged. I still say we should retreat to Cylon, repair our battle damage, and come back to fight another day. The Colonials won't be going anywhere."

James stared at the two human form Cylons his anger slowly seething. There was no longer any doubt in his mind who was responsible for the nukes back at Picon and Celeen 2 not going off. How they had managed to circumvent the nukes was a mystery. One he intended to get to the bottom of. Then they would both suffer the consequences once he had adequate proof of their complicity.

"No!" he spoke his anger boiling forth as his eyes raked the two female Cylons. "We have the advantage here, we will wipe these Colonials out, then and only then will we return to Cylon! The raiders will obey; they know the consequences of failing to do so!"

"No fuel or live support," Lisa spoke quietly shaking her head in disapproval. "That's sentencing them to death."

"That's why they will obey," James replied his eyes showing no regret. "We attack the humans here and now!"

"I agree," Mark Conoy spoke adding his voice to Cavil's. "We destroy the humans here while we have the chance."

"It is necessary," Simon continued eyeing the two female Cylons. "We can't allow them to continue to grow strong. They must be eliminated before they increase the size of the force that opposes us. This is an opportunity we must not pass up."

"We attack," Biers spoke in an icy voice. "We destroy the human orbital forces, and then we nuke the surface. Our Centurions can finish off any survivors."

"I don't know," Leoben broke in shaking his head in doubt his eyes looking briefly at each of the human Cylons in the Command group. "We have already lost many of our brothers and sisters today, plus numerous raiders. Must we lose even more?"

"We have a consensus," James spoke in a commanding and threatening voice as his eyes took in the three who opposed him. "We destroy the humans here at Caprica!"

Melissa and Lisa took several steps backwards away from Cavil. The near maniacal look in his eyes was frightening. We need to eliminate him, Melissa thought realizing that James had truly gone off the deep end. He was no longer worried about what was best for the Cylon race. His obsession with the humans was overriding everything else. She would speak to Lisa at the next opportunity. Something needed to be done before Cavil destroyed them all!

"Order all ships to launch every raider we have, hold the heavy raiders back," James ordered turning his attention to Conoy and Simon. "Hold back just enough squadrons to protect our ships. I want all the rest of our raiders to go in together. I want to hit them as hard as we can and wipe out their vipers. Then we will use the heavy raiders and hit their ships and Defense Satellites with a massive nuke strike. The fleet will advance behind the heavy raiders to eliminate any Colonial forces that remain."

In moments, hundreds and then thousands of raiders were launching from the Cylon fleet. Squadron after squadron launched from the numerous bays filling space between the two opposing forces.

...

Aboard the Battlestar Caprica Commander Talon's face turned pale when he saw the enormous amount of raiders forming up into an immense wall to attack his forces. There were so many that the Dradis couldn't get an accurate count.

"Even with our weapon systems set on full automatic a lot of them are going to get through," Colonel Stillwell stated worriedly as he stared at the Dradis screen, which was nearly covered in red from all the raiders they were tracking. We are going to take some serious hits and damage."

Pressing his mini com, which placed him in instant communication with his entire fleet, Commander Talon gave his orders. "All Defense Stations to fire at will, all ships form up on the Caprica, we will move out toward the incoming Cylons raiders but will stay within range of the defenses of our Defense Stations for supportive fire. All vipers are to be launched, but they are to remain within Defense Station range. Their main job will be to eliminate any raider that penetrates our defenses. All raptors will stay behind the vipers, orders are to intercept Cylon raiders, or inbound missiles with interceptor missiles, then return to their respective ships to rearm with missiles again. Good luck and good hunting!"

The Colonial fleet moved slowly forward. The Caprica was in the center with the Cimitar off her port side and the Medusa and Archimedes off her starboard side. The Gunstars were arranged above and below the Battlestars to aid in defensive fire. Squadrons of vipers flowed around the formation waiting to engage the Cylons.

…

Cavil watched as his wall of raiders neared the Colonial orbital forces. He noted that the Colonial fleet was staying within the safety of the Defense Station's heavy weapons and point defense. Not that it would do them any good, he had too many raiders. They would be over run just as they did Admiral Nagala at Virgon. Just as they should have done to Admiral Clements at Picon.

**REANDEZVOUS JUMP POINT**

**OUTSIDE OF THE CAPRICA SYSTEM**

Admiral Clements watched the numerous view screens expectantly as the rest of his fleet appeared in flashes of white light at the designated coordinates. He had the Aurora, the Mercury Class Battlestars Tauri and Canopus, two Jupiter Class Battlestars the Magellan and Odyssey, two Columbia 2 Class Battlestars the Altair and Spica, fourteen Firestars, and seven Warstars including the Olympia and Athena.

In front of him, six large fleet supply vessels waited. They contained replacement vipers, raptors, and pilots for the ones the fleet had lost at Picon. He fully intended to load every single viper and raptor he could into his bays. The operation would take close to an hour, but that would give him a full force of vipers, plus additional time to repair the damage some of his ships had suffered. Then on to Caprica to destroy the Cylon fleet.

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

**BATTLESTAR CAPRICA**

"Weapons systems holding at 92%," Colonel Stillwell reported as the damage control officer gave him the latest damage report. "The raiders are focusing on our weapons turrets and landing bays."

"What about the two Planetary Defense Satellites how are they holding out?" Colonel Adams demanded as the Caprica shuddered slightly from a missile strike. The raiders had light missiles only and no nukes had been detected. However they were launching so many that a surprising number were getting through the flak screens of the ships and Defense Satellites.

"One is at 90 % on weapons the other is down to 86 %," Colonel Stillwell reported scanning his data. "We have also lost twelve of the smaller defense satellites. The small defense satellites are rapidly running out of interceptor missiles. There are just too many raiders getting through our defenses. A lot of missiles are getting through. We lost the Gunstar Antlia to a massive missile attack. She was hit with over three hundred missiles, which overloaded her defenses. Her Tylium bunker was compromised and detonated destroying the ship. None of her crew got off. The Columbia 2 Class Battlestar Medusa has been heavily damaged, but is still operational. Computer estimates show we have taken out nearly 2,000 of their raiders, but they are swarming our defenses. Our vipers are taking heavy losses!"

…

Aboard the Cylon Command Basestar Cavil watched as the Colonials reeled under his attack. Already the raiders had eliminated twelve of the smaller defense satellites. Damaged both of the Planetary Defense Satellites and had managed to hit the new Battle Station several times with missiles. The Colonial fleet had also suffered losses with one of their Gunstars destroyed, another damaged, and one of the Columbia Two Battlestars heavily damaged and nearly dead in space. He still hadn't launched his nuclear strike; he was holding his heavy raiders back allowing the raiders to continue to weaken the Colonial defenses. For nearly an hour, he had hammered at the humans, slowly wearing them down. It was costing a lot of raiders, but they had also taken out nearly 40 percent of the defending vipers and raptors.

"New Dradis contacts," Melissa reported suddenly as new blips began to show up on her screen. They were appearing close to the Colonial positions, but away from the attacking raiders.

"What are they?" Cavil demanded wondering if Clements had followed them to Caprica. If so, he would destroy Clements and his fleet also!

"It's Clements," Kelvin Doral confirmed his eyes flashing. "He has the Aurora, the Tauri and Canopus, two Jupiter Class Battlestars the Magellan and Odyssey, two Columbia 2 Class Battlestars, fourteen Firestars, and seven Warstars with him. They are launching vipers!"

"How many vipers?" Cavil demanded glaring hotly at the screen that was now focused on the massive Commandstar. He hadn't thought Clements would follow him to Caprica.

After a minute, Melissa replied as she got the final numbers from her Dradis screens and the information stream her hands were immersed in. "Looks like around 1,500!"

"Frak" Cavil said glaring at the screens. This was going to take longer then he had thought, and he might not have the raiders he needed to finish this without having to use his fleet.

"James, with the Aurora and her fleet, we are going to take some very heavy losses," Kelvin Doral warned as he watched dozens of raiders explode under the onslaught of the new vipers from Clement's fleet as they tore into the swirling raider formation that was engaging the orbiting Colonial forces.

"Don't you think I don't know that," Cavil replied angrily his face taking on a stormy look. He was silent for a moment as he watched the newly launched vipers engaging his raiders. Then turning to Simon. "Contact all of our ships in the Colonies. I want every one of them here as soon as possible. With our entire fleet, we can still defeat these humans and end this once and for all."

"All of them," Simon asked shocked looking at Cavil. "What if the humans attack one of the other Colonies?"

"They won't!" James retorted wishing the others would just do as he told them. "All their available ships are here, except the ones still at Picon guarding their rescue operation."

Melissa and Lisa stared at one another in dismay, what was James thinking, he was going to put their entire fleet at risk!

"Yes all of them," Cavil repeated turning to face the others. "The humans are here; our Centurions we have down on the surface of the other Colonies will be quite adequate to hold them. Once we have destroyed the humans here at Caprica, our ships can return to their jobs at the other Colonies. But I want those ships here now!"

A few minutes later heavy raiders were dispatched to all the former human Colonies to summon the rest of the Cylon fleet. Long-range communication was down due to massive jamming from the human Defense Satellites.

"James, Clements fleet is advancing toward us, they are not moving toward the Defense Satellites," Mark Conoy warned in surprise as alarms began sounding on several consoles. "He sent part of his vipers to attack our raiders, but his warships and about 30 percent of his vipers are heading straight toward us!"

"They are trying to drive us away," James muttered angrily glaring at a view screen, which showed the Aurora. "Well it won't work; Clements and his fleet will die here! Order out Basestars and Support Ships to advance. We will engage Clements with our missiles. Recall some of our raider squadrons to intercept any Colonial missiles aimed at our Basestars!"

"Our Support Ships are only very lightly armed," Leoben spoke concerned. "With their thin armor they will be easy targets for Clement's fleet."

"I realize that," James replied getting tired of having to explain every move he made.

"While the human ships target our Support Ships it will give our Basestars time to hit the Colonial ships with missiles. We have the numbers they don't."

"There are some of our human form brothers and sisters on those Support Ships," Leoben reminded James.

"We won't lose many," James retorted shaking his head. "Their sacrifice will be for the good of Cylon!"

Melissa and Lisa glanced at each other, Cavil didn't seem to understand that all the raiders and human form Cylons that were dieing, or about to die would be lost permanently. There was no resurrection. Somehow, both knew they must do whatever was necessary to save their brothers and sisters before it was too late.

…

Admiral Clements winced as the Aurora took another hit. The Colonials were attacking the Cylons with three fleets. The Aurora, the Magellan, the Odyssey, three Warstars, and two Firestars were assaulting the center. Admiral Reynolds with the Mercury Class Battlestars Tauri and Canopus, two Columbia 2 Class Battlestars, and six Firestars was on his left flank. Commander Wells was on his right flank with the Olympia and Athena, two more Warstars, and six Firestars.

The Valkyrie and her fleet were still holding position between the Defense Satellites adding their ships firepower and vipers to the defense of the three satellites.

Admiral Clements watched as Commander Cain efficiently brought the Aurora about to target a Cylon Basestar. "MPL cannons to fire at five second intervals," Cain ordered briskly. "Warstars are to hit the Basestar's two flanking Support Ships with heavy rail gun fire and heavy missiles. Use of nuclear ordinance has been authorized."

The lights in the CIC dimmed slightly as the first MPL cannon fired sending its reddish blue beam at the Cylon Basestar. The beam hit, cutting off a spire attached to the central axis of the ship causing a massive explosion where it had cleaved the ship. The next three beams fired in sequence striking the Basestar's center causing horrendous damage. Massive explosions began to rack the targeted Basestar then it exploded in a fiery blast as its Tylium bunkers ignited, moments later all that was left of the Basestar was a slowly expanding field of metal and glowing gas. The two Support Ships were also on fire from the attack of the Warstars attached to the Aurora.

Watching the Dradis and view screens, Admiral Clements saw the Cylons attempting a pincer move on Commander Well's force trying to cut it off from the others. Commander Wells had recognized the threat and was attempting to neutralize the attack by engaging a Basestar and two Support Ships. Clements glanced down at the large operation's table, which displayed the positions of his ships as well as the Cylon fleet. "Have Major Well's three viper squadrons cover the Olympia and Athena's attack run," he ordered one of the two tactical officers seated to his left at their command consoles.

Out in space Major Sarah Wells watched as her brother David and Commander Stokes moved their two Warstars toward the Cylon ships slightly ahead of the rest of the ships in their battle group. She brought her three squadrons to one side of the Olympia and waited a moment for all of her pilots to get into formation.

"All right everyone let's blow a path through these raiders and give the Olympia and Athena a clear shot at those two Support Ships and that Basestar," Sarah ordered watching her small Dradis screen as her squadrons formed up. "Blue and Red squadrons take the lead. Black will follow for support. Let's go people." With that, all three squadrons hit their turbos and tore into the waiting raiders shredding their formation.

Explosions ran across the thin raider line. Most of the Cylon raiders were still attacking the Defense Satellites and the Valkyrie's fleet. Sarah estimated that only two squadrons stood between the Warstars and their targets. Sarah closed her eyes in anger as she saw two of her vipers vanish from her screen.

"Focus people," she ordered trying to sound calm over her squadron's com link. "Stay with your wingman, don't get caught out of formation. Beware of the pinwheel attack the Cylons like to use. They want to isolate you from your wingman!"

These were her pilots, young men and women she had spent months training. She knew they would do as she ordered. A raider suddenly fell into her sights and she squeezed her gun trigger feeling an inner satisfaction as the twenty-millimeter shells tore it apart. Rolling her viper underneath the destroyed Cylon raider, she fired off two missiles wiping out two more raiders that had been closing in on a pair of vipers from above. Only glowing wreckage and gas showed where they had been. By destroying all three raiders, it eliminated that particular pinwheel attack on her viper pilots.

Mathew followed close behind firing a missile taking out another Cylon raider that vanished in a fiery fireball. The raider had been attempting to close in on Sarah from below.

"Frak there are a lot of raiders out here," Mathew said over his com looking at all the raiders on his Dradis attacking the Defense Satellites. "I've never seen so many!"

"Just more for us to kill!" Sarah replied with a hint of anger in her voice as another one of her pilots vipers vanished from her Dradis. These pinwheel attacks the Cylons were using against her vipers were deadly when they succeeded.

For over a minute, the intense battle raged as the Cylon raiders tried to penetrate to the Olympia and Athena. Sarah and her squadrons fought fiercely to prevent it. The raider squadrons had almost been eliminated when Sarah was momentarily blinded as the Olympia fired her MPL cannon at the nearest Cylon Support Ship.

The reddish blue beam struck the ship and penetrated deep into the Cylon's ships hull cutting effortlessly into the power supply. Explosions lit up the ship and seemed to march uncontrollably across the Support Ships hull blowing out large chunks of metal and debris. Suddenly the ship exploded in a large red ball of flame as her Tylium bunkers ruptured tearing the Support Ship apart. The Cylons had made a mistake placing their main fuel supply in the center of their ships. It made for an easy and tempting target for an MPL cannon.

"All right," Lieutenant Everett screamed over the com as she watched the Cylon Support Ship break apart. "Burn toaster burn!"

"Calm down Cindy," Captain Taggert stated. "There are still a lot of toasters out here so watch your ass!"

"Everyone stay alert," Sarah cut in trying to keep everyone focused. "The Olympia needs time to recharge her MPL let's keep the fraking Cylons away from her, the Athena should be firing shortly."

Sarah grimaced as she saw that two Cylon raiders had slipped through her defenses and were heading for the Olympia. Another Cylon raider squadron had been diverted and was coming in toward the Olympia from her starboard side. Sarah would have to engage the incoming Cylon squadron with her vipers. Her squadron was slightly out of position from dealing with the previous raider squadrons to catch the two raiders that had slipped through. A quick look at the head start they had and she knew that she couldn't catch them before they launched their missiles. Keying her com to the Olympia's channel, "Olympia this is Major Wells, you have two inbound raiders that have gotten through."

It was at that moment that one of the Olympia's smaller MPL batteries fired blowing one of the raiders to pieces, the second managed to only get off one missile before it was destroyed. The Olympia's point defense turrets took out the lone missile well away from the Olympia's hull.

"Good shooting Olympia," Sarah commented as she turned and went hunting for another target.

The Athena fired her MPL striking the second Support Ship. The ship lit up in a fiery explosion that left a huge gaping hole in her hull. Thirty seconds later the Athena fired her MPL again and the Support Ship broke apart in a massive explosion. The Basestar pulled back away from the two Warstars without firing any missiles. Seeing the pincer movement had been stopped the Olympia and Athena began to drop back toward their Battle Group and the protection of its viper squadrons. Sarah smiled and took her three squadrons hunting for more Cylons.

"Sir we have new Dradis signatures jumping in," Commander Cain reported looking worriedly at the Dradis screen, which showed new red threat icons appearing.

Admiral Clements had also spotted the new arrivals. "They've called in the rest of their fleet," Clements realized looking at Commander Cain. Turning to the two tactical officers at his side. "Order all ships to fall back to the covering fire of the Defense Satellites."

…

Cavil watched gloatingly as the Colonials fell back to the relative safety of the Defense Satellites overlapping defensive fire. He had lost an additional four Basestars and Six Support Ships to their attack. While only managing to destroy one Firestar and heavily damage a few other Colonial fleet units. "Have all of our raiders return and rearm," he ordered crisply knowing he finally had Clements exactly where he wanted him. "Move our heavy raiders forward; it's time to hit them with the nukes."

…

Admiral Clements watched as the Cylon heavy raiders advanced then vanished in a short FTL jump only to reappear in the midst of the Colonial fleet. "Order all of our vipers to engage those heavy raiders," he ordered. Clements knew it would take a few seconds for the heavy raiders systems to stabilize so they could fire their weapons. They had to take out as many as possible before that happened.

"Sir, we are getting radiological alarms from those raiders, they contain nukes a fraken lot of nukes!" the Dradis officer warned as he reached forward with his right hand and silenced the alarms.

"Our squadrons are low on munitions," Commander Cain stated looking at the Dradis, which showed countless red blips surrounding all the Colonial units. "They caught us at a bad time. We don't have the interceptor missiles we need to take them out."

Out in space Sarah and her squadrons turned and raced off toward the Cylon heavy raiders, which had just appeared. The Cylons had caught most of the vipers out of position with their short jump. Most of her squadrons were short on munitions with very few missiles, if any missiles. She knew that all the other squadrons that were racing toward the incoming Cylons would be short also.

"Frak, they are in missile range of the fleet," Sarah screamed furiously over the com. "Kill the fraking toasters, we can't let them fire!" Even as the words left her lips the first Cylon nukes were launched at the fleet and waiting Defense Satellites. In desperation, she targeted a heavy raider and fired here twin twenty-millimeter cannons, with satisfaction she saw it explode. Other vipers were now engaging the heavy raiders blasting them from space. However, they were not quick enough. Missile after missile was launched from the heavy raiders. Several viper pilots with quick reactions were able to shoot down a number of the missiles, but there were just too many.

Colonel Styles aboard the Indram watched with growing concern as numerous Cylon missiles were being tracked targeting the Colonial ships and the Defense Satellites. "All weapons automatic fire and set interceptor missile launch to sprint mode."

"That will use up a fraken lot of interceptor missiles," his Exec warned.

"I know, but if we don't those incoming missile will blow us away," Colonel Styles replied as he watched the incoming missiles on his screens.

On the Aurora, Admiral Clements and Commander Cain watched as the Cylon missile attack bore down on them.

"Tracking 1,412 nuclear missiles," the Dradis officer reported in shock at the numbers his screens were indicating. "We have another 408 non nuclear heavy missiles also inbound."

It was at that moment that all the Defense Satellites went into sprint launch mode clearing their racks of interceptor missiles. Hundreds of missiles were fired from the Satellites, some aimed at the Cylon heavy raiders, but the majority at the Cylon missiles.

"Suppression fire all ships," Admiral Clements ordered over his mini com which placed him in communication with the all the Colonial units. He felt like he had been hit in the pit of his stomach. There was no way they could stop that many missiles. A lot of people and ships were about to die! Frak they should have expected this tactic from the Cylons!

Defense turrets began spitting out concussion rounds that exploded a safe distance from the ships. The defense batteries fired at their maximum rate putting up an almost solid barrier of flak.

"All ships stand by for nuclear strikes!" Clements warned over his mini com bracing himself for what he knew was about to come. Sweat appeared on his forehead as he steeled himself for the nuclear strike. He wasn't sure if even the Aurora could survive this.

"Missiles being intercepted by station interceptors," the Dradis officer reported. "Eighty missiles destroyed, 140 missiles destroyed, 370 missiles destroyed, 540 missiles destroyed, 754 missiles destroyed, entering range of defensive turrets. Nine hundred missiles destroyed, missile impacts!"

The Aurora shuddered as a nuke penetrated her defenses and exploded on the upper section just above the engine compartment. Another hit the starboard landing bay jarring the ship. Two more struck the bow staggering the massive ship. In the CIC, control panels exploded and sparks flew everywhere. A number of crewmembers were thrown violently to the floor. Clements could smell smoke and see several small fires burning in computer consoles across the massive CIC.

"Heavy damage to upper frames 90 to 112. Explosive decompression reported in sections 21 thorough 39. Engineering reports that they are shutting down one of the primary energizers due to fire danger. We have a number of fires burning out of control on seven decks, primarily in the bow areas of the ship. Damage control teams have been dispatched," the shaken damage control officer reported. "The starboard landing bay has been heavily damaged, it's out of operation for the time being. The deck chief is inspecting the damage to see how long repair time will be."

"Frak they hit us hard," Commander Cain muttered as he continued to take reports of the status of his ship and the damage it had sustained. "We were hit by four nukes and at least two heavy missiles!"

"What about the rest of the fleet," Admiral Clements demanded as the ship's screens began to clear. "I want a complete damage assessment of all units as quickly as possible."

Out in space Sarah watched in shock as nuclear explosions rolled across the Colonial fleet and the three Defense Satellites. From the intensity of several of the larger explosions, she knew that some ships had not survived. A large number of the heavy raiders had been blasted from space by the vengeful vipers and missiles from the Defense Satellites before they could jump back to their Basestars and safety. The raiders had launched their missiles then jumped back as quickly as their FTLs would allow them. The surviving vipers, all 912 of them needed to rearm and refuel.

Aboard the Indram, Colonel Styles picked himself up off the floor. He knew that the Indram had taken more then one nuclear hit. The power was still on and his command screens began to clear. He felt sick as he read the damage that had been inflicted on the Defense Satellites and the smaller 200-meter defense satellites. All of the smaller defense satellites were now gone. One of the Planetary Defense Satellites had been mauled and was down to less then 20 percent weapons. The other Planetary Defense Satellite was also heavily damaged with its weapons status at 42 percent. Both satellites reported numerous fires and hull breaches. The Indram's weapon status was down to 48 percent.

Aboard the Aurora, Admiral Clements was just getting the news on the status of the fleet. From Commander Talon's fleet the Columbia Two Battlestar Medusa had been destroyed, the Gunstar Cygnus destroyed, and all other units damaged to one extent or another but still operational. From BSG 15 the Firestar Basilisk had been destroyed, the Canopus was heavily damaged but was still marginally operational. From his own fleet the Warstar Therion had been destroyed, and the Firestars Ceres and Valiant were gone, all other ships were reporting some damage. From Commander Well's battle group, the Firestar Paladin was no more.

"Order all ships to get as much of their damage repaired as possible," Clements ordered, he knew that many of his ships had suffered heavy damage that only a repair dock could patch up. On the main view screen, he looked at Caprica knowing now that he didn't have the forces left to protect the humans on the planet. "We have a little bit of time before the Cylons come in to try to finish us off."

"We could send for Admiral Stockwell," Commander Cain suggested. "With Admiral Stockwell's ships we might just be able to prevent the Cylons from destroying Caprica."

"It's possible," Admiral Clements replied wondering if it was possible to stop the Cylon fleet that was now waiting just outside of weapons range. "It depends on how many casualties the Cylons are willing to suffer."

"We can always jump out if the situation becomes hopeless," Cain spoke not liking the idea. If they did then the people down on Caprica were finished.

"We can at least hurt them bad enough that it will take them years to recover," Admiral Clements spoke. "We need to do everything we can to protect Caprica. We can't cut and run. If we do lose here, Admiral Steele is safe back in the nebula. We can at least give our people back in the nebula time to grow and prepare to retake the Colonies sometime in the future."

"Over two million of them, with the ones we rescued from Picon and Celeen 2," Commander Cain said watching as several damage control teams rushed around the CIC putting out several small fires. The emergency ventilation system had kicked in and the smoke was rapidly being drawn out of the CIC.

"Send a raptor to Picon and order Admiral Stockwell to hasten to Caprica as soon as the rescue operation is completed," Admiral Clements ordered.

Turning, Admiral Clements looked at the Dradis screen, which showed several more red threat icons that had just showed up. He let out a deep breath knowing that a lot more of his fellow Colonial fleet personnel were probably going to die in the next few hours. He wondered if any of them would still be here when Admiral Stockwell showed up.

…

Cavil watched his screens as the reports rolled in from the nuke attack. True he had lost many of his heavy raiders, but the damage they had done to the Colonial fleet and the Defense Satellites was well worth it.

"It's confirmed," Simon reported as he read the information coming through the data stream. "One Columbia Two Class Battlestar destroyed, one Warstar destroyed, four Firestars destroyed, one of their Gunstars, plus several hundred of their vipers. Their Defense Stations were heavily hit and all of the smaller ones have been destroyed. Our heavy raiders also report that the Canopus has been heavily damaged."

"Excellent," Cavil gloated pleased that his plan had worked. "Once all of our fleet has arrived, we will move in and finish them off."

Melissa and Lisa looked worriedly at one another. They had not really expected Cavil's plan to succeed. If Cavil succeeded in winning and destroying the humans and he managed to find out who had given the humans the codes for the nukes at Picon and Celeen 2, then they both would probably die. They needed to talk. It was time for them to take action against James Cavil!

_Author's note: I realize this is a long chapter. I have made a lot of small changes in my story over the last few months from how I wrote it originally. Some were changes I felt needed to be made and some were suggestion from some of the people who have been reading this story. As a result, this chapter needed a major rewrite. Several readers have volunteered to help with the last few chapters and I want to thank them for their offer of assistance. However, I have a specific idea for how this story needs to end. There are two more stories to follow this one._

_Search for the Galactica_

_And_

_Return to Earth_

_This story and how it ends will set up these two. Both of the next two stories already have completed outlines from start to finish. To me this makes writing a lot easier and helps prevent writer's block. _

_Commandstar Aurora does have an ending and will not leave you hanging or asking questions._

_I have two chapters left. The next chapter has been rewritten, but needs additional work before I feel it's ready to go. _

_I don't use a Beta. The reason is that I want to improve my writing and the best way is to do it myself. I have a Minor in English but that was years ago! I have purchased several grammar books to brush up on some things. I also use the Grammar Girl website as a source. _

_I realize there are some Grammar mistakes in this story. I apologize for that and I hope that in the future I can go back and correct them._

_I want to thank everyone for reading my stories. This has been a lot of fun. _


	29. Chapter 29

**CYLON COMMAND BASESTAR**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

"We should have all available fleet units from the Colonies here within the hour," Simon reported as more Cylon ships appeared on the Dradis screen. As they arrived, Simon moved them into the growing Cylon fleet formation.

One Basestar with two Support Ships made up each small battle group. The Support Ships took up positions slightly behind the more heavily armed Basestars. A squadron of raiders flew CAP around each small battle group.

"So we are finally going to eliminate the humans," Kelvin Doral said pleased as he watched the arriving Cylon ships take their places in their fleet formation. He had made the right decision in supporting James.

"Not all of them," Melissa replied finally daring to speak, everything had been moving so fast and Cavil was acting as if he was in complete charge of the entire operation. "The humans did manage to rescue the civilians on Picon and the captives that were on Celeen 2."

"They still have some warships with the rescue fleet, notably BSG 9 under command of Admiral Stockwell, plus their secret base wherever that may be," Lisa added. "There are no doubt additional ships there!"

"Minor details," Cavil said eyeing the two with a smug smile brushing off their comments. With this victory, he would be the true leader of the Cylons. He would become the Cylon Imperious Leader. No one would dare to challenge him, not even John or Darien when they returned. "With Clements gone and Caprica destroyed, the survivors will never be a threat to us. Admiral Stockwell will make a mistake eventually and we will finish off his fleet as well. Of the three Admirals, he is he least dangerous. We will eventually hunt them down and destroy them. They can't stay hidden forever. The Twelve Colonies will be the beginning of the new Cylon Empire and I will become the Imperious Leader of our new worlds!"

Lisa and Melissa stared at James in shock. They knew if he succeeded in destroying the humans, he would be the controlling voice for the Cylons for years to come. It sounded like he planned on becoming some type of supreme leader. He must be stopped! Lisa nodded at Melissa indicating the door that led from the Command Center. They left the Command Center stepping out into the hallway to talk. James didn't even notice their exit. He was embroiled in a deep conversation with Mark Conoy, one of his avid supporters.

"If he succeeds he will destroy the Cylon race!" Lisa spoke in a frightened voice. "He has gone mad! What is this Imperious Leader fantasy he is spouting?"

"All he wants now is power and to rule over us," Melissa responded knowing they could no longer wait to take action against James. "If he succeeds in destroying the humans, our two lines will be in a lot of danger. We have opposed his too often; he will want us out of his way. We must stop him!"

"How?" Lisa asked perplexed. "The others, except for Leoben seem to be going along with him."

"I have an idea," Melissa replied her eyes turning cold. "Return to the Command Center so he won't suspect anything is amiss. I will return shortly."

Lisa went back into the Command Center returning to her station where she resumed scanning the Colonial fleet. She wondered what Melissa was planning.

From her scans, she could tell that the Colonial fleet had been heavily damaged. She wondered why Clements was not fleeing with whatever survivors he could take aboard his ships. He must know that the situation he now found himself in was nearly hopeless. She had been scanning for nearly ten minutes when Melissa returned to the Command Center, she was accompanied by two towering Centurions.

"James this madness has to end," Melissa spoke in a deadly determined tone as soon as she entered. She gazed at him, her eyes cold and without mercy. "You will not be the leader of the Cylons!"

James only stared at Melissa in surprise as the two Centurions accompanying her raised their weapons toward him.

A sudden burst of heavy weapons fire erupted and both of Melissa's Centurions fell to the floor, their metal bodies riddled with bullet holes. From both sides of the Command Center, four Centurions lowered their smoking weapons.

"Didn't you think I would take precautions against just this type of treason,"  
James snarled glaring at Melissa. He signaled to two of the Centurions. "Take this Eight," he said pointing at Melissa," and this Six," he continued pointing at Lisa to number twelve airlock and dispose of them."

The other Cylon models in the room stood silently. None dared question or disagree with Cavil's actions. To do so might bring about their death as well.

Lisa and Melissa allowed themselves to be led away, knowing their insurrection was over. James would be victorious. The Cylon race was about to embark upon a very dark and dangerous path that could only end in its eventual destruction.

They were nearly to the airlock when weapons fire broke out again and both of the two Centurions guarding them fell to the deck. Leoben and two Centurions under his control stepped out of a side passageway. "You moved to quickly Melissa," Leoben spoke disapprovingly. "I had already made arrangements for the Centurions to take James out, now my plan will never work. He will be to well guarded."

"What are we to do?" Melissa asked knowing how close they had come to being killed. "He must be stopped!"

"Not now, and not by us," Leoben replied shaking his head. "If the opportunity presents itself I will take care of James. But for now you two must leave. Once he realizes that both of you are still alive, he will tear this Basestar apart searching for you. You can't stay on this ship!"

"Where will we go?" Lisa asked knowing that Leoben was right.

"I have a heavy raider prepped in landing bay 4," Leoben replied looking at the two. "Take it and return to Cylon, tell your models and mine what is going on. Perhaps all is not yet lost. You must sway them before James returns."

Nodding, Melissa and Lisa hurried down a side passageway, which led to landing bay 4. Leoben turned to return to the Command Center. He would have preferred to flee with Melissa and Lisa, but someone had to stay and try to keep on eye on James.

An hour later Cavil gave the order and 28 Basestars and 44 Support Ships began moving slowly forward. He felt nearly omnipotent at the power he now controlled. Nearly 18,000 raiders led the way in nearly a solid wall that would mean death to the Colonials. They formed a long crescent formation that would sweep across the Colonial lines wiping them out once and for all. Other squadrons patrolled around the Cylon Basestars and Support Ships in case Colonial raptors jumped in for a quick strike. The patrolling raiders would be able to knock down any incoming Colonial nukes.

…

Admiral Clements watched as the Cylons neared. He had spread his ships out slightly in order to give more support to the hard hit Defense Satellites. All units had been working as fast as possible repairing battle damage. The Cylons had given them over two precious hours and much had been accomplished during that time. Every ship reported battle ready!

"Here they come," Commander Cain spoke watching the Dradis his eyes widening at the sheer number of raiders. "They are going to try to overwhelm us with their raiders."

"Between the Defense Satellites, the Indram, and our fleet they are going to lose a fraking lot of raiders," Admiral Clements replied with a determined look upon his face. "Let's keep our formation as tight as possible, but spread out just enough to help cover the Defense Satellites and the Indram. We will need the coverage of their interceptor missiles if we are to survive this."

The Cylon fleet halted just outside of weapons range of the Defense Satellites and Clements winced as the wall of raiders continued to advance. He pressed his mini com allowing him contact with his entire fleet. "All ships are to spin up your FTL drives, if you become disabled or to heavily damaged to fight affectively, you are to jump to Picon and rendezvous with Admiral Stockwell and BSG 9. From there you will return to the nebula and safety. We will try to cause as much damage to the Cylons as possible before withdrawing."

It was at that moment that the Dradis sounded and more ships began to appear.

Admiral Clements tensed expecting to see the icons go to red indicating more Cylon ships, but he was surprised when they turned green, the ships were all emitting Colonial Ids.

"It's Admiral Stockwell," Commander Cain reported relieved as he read the data coming over the Dradis. "He brought the Picon, two Columbia Two Class Battlestars, four Gunstars, and sixteen of the Escortstars from the evacuation fleet."

"That means he left his two Firestars and two of his Gunstars to escort the evacuation fleet back to the nebula," Admiral Clements spoke nodding his head in approval. "Have Admiral Stockwell's ships placed in our battle line. All ships to form up in diamond defensive formation Beta 3. We will allow the Cylons to come to us. With the additional defensive fire from Admiral Stockwell's ships, we may have a chance after all."

…

Cavil frowned in annoyance when he saw the arrival of the additional Colonial ships. "What does that give them?" he demanded turning to glare at Simon. It seemed like every time he was ready to destroy Admiral Clements and his ships, something unexpected got in the way.

Simon studied the scans for a moment with both of his hands submerged in the bluish energy filled data stream. "The Aurora, the Mercury Class Battlestars Tauri, Canopus, and Picon, the Jupiter Class Battlestars Magellan, Odyssey, and Cimitar, five Columbia 2 Class Battlestars, one Valkyrie Class Battlestar the Caprica, seven Warstars, ten Firestars, seven Gunstars, and sixteen Escortstars."

"That has to be their entire fleet," Cavil gloated, his eyes wide in anticipation. "We destroy these ships and the war is over, the Cylon Empire will indeed be born today!"

…

Admiral Clements contacted Admiral Stockwell and learned that the evacuation fleet with the survivors from Picon and Celeen 2 was already on its way back to the nebula. "I don't know if any of us will survive this battle," Clements spoke over the com. "If we can destroy or damage enough of these Cylon ships then perhaps General Ashton's defenses can hold off what is left."

"We are where we need to be," Admiral Stockwell replied in a calm accepting voice. "If we allowed all these civilians on Caprica to die, how would we ever be able to live with ourselves?"

"My thoughts exactly," Clements replied solemnly. "Inform your ship Commanders that if their ships become disabled or to damaged to fight affectively, they are to jump out and return to the nebula to join Admiral Steele."

"I will inform them," Stockwell replied. "But I don't think any of my Commanders will be jumping out!"

"We will be sending you coordinates as to where to place your ships in our fleet formation shortly Admiral," Clements responded. "Good luck and good hunting."

For several long moments after speaking to Admiral Stockwell, Admiral Clements stood in silence looking at the large view screens and the Dradis. They would give the Cylons a good fight, but there were just so many fraking raiders. This must have been how Admiral Nagala felt, Johnathan realized. Nagala had stayed and fought to the end, trying to buy time for the evacuation plan to be implemented. Now it was his turn, only this time he was trying to save the millions of civilians trapped on Caprica.

The fleet's 1,300 surviving vipers launched forming a defensive line between the approaching Cylons raiders and the Colonial fleet. Already the Defense Satellites were beginning to launch long-range interceptor missiles in sprint mode. There would be no need to hold any back. Fiery explosions began to hammer the Cylon raider formation. There were so many raiders that very few missiles were missing.

Major Sarah Wells and Captain Mathew Geller were leading their depleted squadrons out from the Aurora. Out of her original complement of 60 vipers including hers and Mathews, thirty-eight still survived. She had formed them up into one squadron and adjusted wing mates for those that needed new ones.

Two of her squadron leaders were no longer with her; both Captain Aaron Strom and Captain Janice Dupree had died in the last battle. As she led her squadron toward the incoming Cylon wall of raiders, she couldn't help wondering about her sister Kathryn. She hoped that Kathryn and Constance would be all right without David and her to watch over them. There was little doubt in her mind that both David and she would probably not live out the day. Counting the heavy raiders, which she was sure would be showing up later, they would be outnumbered nearly twenty to one.

Switching her com over to private mode between her and Mathew, she spoke to him. This might be her last opportunity to speak with him privately. "Mathew this will probably be the last time we fly together. I just wanted you to know," she paused a moment finding it difficult to say the words she had kept silent for so long. "I love you and I am sorry for not saying so earlier!"

Silence came over the com for what seemed like an eternity and Sarah began to wonder if Mathew had even heard her, then his calm reassuring voice came back over the com. "I know Sarah, I have always known, and I love you too!"

…

Aboard the Cylon Command Basestar Cavil watched emotionlessly as his raiders began to die in bright fiery fireballs from the incoming Colonial interceptor missiles. It didn't matter; his fleet was so superior in numbers to what the humans had left that he could afford massive raider losses. The raiders would attack, they would not attempt to save themselves, they all knew of the example he had made of the ones that had retreated at Picon.

He had allowed them to run out of fuel and life support. An abject lesson to the others, obey or die! As soon as the raiders finished off the remaining Colonial vipers, they would attack what remained of the Colonial fleet. Then Cavil would move the Cylon Basestars in and finish off everything that remained with their heavy missiles. He would be more careful this time, eliminate the vipers, damage the Colonial warships as much as possible, and then he would move in with his 28 Basestars and finish them off.

When space had been completely cleared of all Colonial forces, he had one hundred, fifty-megaton warheads that would be aimed at the surviving humans on the surface. He would order the Centurions back to a safe distance, and then launch the missiles. Those warheads would destroy all the surviving humans on Caprica. Ten of them were to be targeted on Deep Shelter Base wiping out the last human military stronghold in the Colonies. All that would be left of the human base would be a deep glowing hole in the ground just like the Colonial fleet headquarters back on Picon.

**JOINT DEMETER AND KOBOLAN FLEET**

**CAPRICA ORBIT UNDER FULL STEALTH**

Admiral Stone smiled in anticipation as his ships moved into attack range of the Cylon fleet. They were all operating in full stealth mode and the Cylons had no idea they were here. This time the fleet would be on time, not like back at Picon.

"All ships in position," Commander Davis spoke quietly his eyes focused intently on the operation's table, which showed the designated location of their ships as they approached the Cylon ships from the rear. We have 24 of the Cylon Basestars targeted with our heavy ships. The Kobolan Escort ships are targeting ten of the Cylon Support Ships."

Into his mini com, Admiral Stone spoke his orders. "All ships prepare to drop out of stealth, activate defense shields, and fire Hades missiles on my command. Good luck and good hunting!"

On all the ships of his fleet, Hades missiles were loaded into the launch tubes. Tactical officers locked onto their targets, their fingers hovering above the launch buttons. Massive KEW batteries were loaded with shells and KEW turrets swiveled around to lock onto Cylon ships.

…

Sarah winced as another one of her squadrons surviving vipers was blown apart by a Cylon pinwheel attack. Frak there were so many of them, twice already Mathew and her had nearly been trapped by Cylon raiders. She could see numerous fireballs from exploding raiders as well as Colonial vipers. It was everything she could do to manage her squadron, even with the help of Mathew and Captain Taggert. She jerked her viper down in a quick roll as she dodged an incoming Cylon missile. Pulling back up, she launched one of her two remaining interceptor missiles. The missile slammed into the targeted Cylon raider blowing it into a thousand pieces of glowing flaming wreckage.

Admiral Clements watched the Dradis and the operation's table intently. The Cylon raiders were already penetrating his viper screen and would soon be in amongst his ships. "All ships prepare to activate flak fields on my command." This battle was about to get rough.

…

James watched the raider attack with eagerness as the raiders began to penetrate the viper screen and move in to attack Clement's ships. Half of the raiders would concentrate on the vipers; the other half would move in and launch their missiles at Clements fleet. He had so many raiders that when they were through, all his Basestars and Support Ships would have to do would be to finish off the few stragglers, if there were any. This was a great day to be a Cylon!

…

Unknown to him, behind his fleet Admiral Stone spoke the words that would doom Cavil's dream of a New Cylon Empire under his rule. Imperious Leader James Cavil would never ascend to power. "Disengage stealth, activate defense shields, all ships fire full spread of Hades 2 missiles!" Admiral Stone ordered.

The Hades 2 missile had been improved on by the Kobolans, besides its special ECM abilities, it now contained a twenty-megaton warhead and a powerful booster that moved it at nearly four percent the speed of light.

…

"Sir I have ships appearing behind the Cylon fleet," the Dradis operator on the Aurora spoke up in shock trying to make sense of what he was seeing. "There are 34 unidentified ships, wait I am picking up Colonial IDs from some of them. Sir, one of the ships is the Mercury Class Battlestar Aires!"

"Confirm that Lieutenant!" Commander Cain barked staring intently at the Dradis screen.

"They are launching missiles at the Cylon ships," the Dradis operator continued. "It is definitely the Aires! I am also picking up the Jupiter Class Battlestar Olympia."

…

"Cavil we have unidentified ships that have just appeared behind us," Simon uttered in shock. "Frak, they are launching missiles. James two of the ships are the Warstar Nichen and the Jupiter Class Battlestar Olympia, those are two of the ships that Darien was sent after. There are also Titan Class Gunstars in this new fleet!"

Even as James turned to look at his screens in surprise at the implications, the first missiles struck.

Massive reddish yellow explosions lit up the Basestars as nuclear fire rolled through the Cylon formation melting hulls and vaporizing sensitive components deep inside. Basestars blew apart in brilliant fireballs from multiple nuclear strikes; others broke apart as massive explosions tore the ships to pieces as their Tylium bunkers exploded.

A sudden nuclear blast shook the Command Basestar throwing James to the floor; he stood back up wiping blood from his forehead from a jagged cut. He was promptly thrown painfully against a consol as another nuclear strike staggered the Command Basestar. Several computer screens and consoles erupted in cascades of sparks and fire as their electrical circuits were over loaded.

"Launch our heavy raiders; target those new ships with our nukes!" James screamed out in anger seeing his plans falling apart. Upon a view screen, the Mercury Class Battlestar Aires was being displayed. Multiple flashes were visible as her KEW batteries fired round after round into the Cylon fleet. "Get our CAP raider squadrons in position to intercept those missiles!"

Of the ten Support Ships that were targeted by the Kobolan Escort ships, the Hades strike vaporized all ten ships leaving nothing but glowing gases and drifting debris behind. Multiple twenty-megaton missiles were deadly to the lightly armored Support Ships. The Cylon fleet reeled from the unexpected attack its precise formation shattered. Nuclear fireballs ravaged the Cylon fleet wiping out Basestars, Support Ships, and raiders.

Upon seeing the Aires and the ships with her, particularly the Titan Class Gunstars, James knew that Darien and the Cylon fleet he was in command of was gone. Destroyed by the Aires and these other strange ships that were now showing on the view screens. He had never seen the likes of these massive ships before. The humans had found some very powerful allies and now they had come back to destroy him and his dreams of a New Cylon Empire.

Cavil turned pale as twelve of his Basestars vanished from the Dradis screen. Destroyed in the sudden nuclear attack. Ten Support Ships also vanished. He knew that other Basestars were heavily damaged. "Recall additional raiders," he ordered frantically. "We need more protection from these missiles!"

…

"Sir, I have an Admiral Stone on Fleet Com Line Alpha," the Aurora com officer reported looking confused. "He says he is aboard the Battlestar Aires and wishes to speak with you."

"Admiral Stone?" Commander Cain spoke sounding confused and looking at the Admiral. "I don't know an Admiral Stone, do you?"

Admiral Clements shook his head. "No I don't, but they just blew the frak out of the Cylon fleet." On the Dradis Clements could see that the new fleet was launching numerous vipers, which were bypassing the Cylon fleet, and heading to engage the raiders that were still trying to break through Clements defending squadrons. Some of the raider squadrons were already beginning to turn around and rush back toward the Basestars.

Johnathan turned on his mini com, which he keyed to Fleet Com Line Alpha. "This is Admiral Clements," he spoke.

"Admiral Clements this is Admiral Stone," came the friendly voice over the com line. "I know you don't know me, but I was assigned to a secret mission by Admiral Corman. Part of that mission involved the secret base you have no doubt heard about in your Cylon intercepts. I will explain later, but I have Admiral Murray and Admiral Reed with me, as well as some friends we met along the way. Let's finish kicking these Cylons out of the Colonies and then we can meet and I will explain everything."

"Very well Admiral Stone," Clements responded still trying to accept this sudden turn around in the battle. In his mind he thought, Admiral Corman, I should have known, more of his secret plans, but this time that plan may have just saved what was left of the Colonies. This was going to be one report he was going to be extremely interested in. "We will talk when this is over; let's finish off this Cylon fleet." Turning to the two tactical officers to his left. "Order the fleet to advance, we will engage the Cylon Basestars and Support Ships, we end this here and now!"

…

"Clements is starting to advance," Doral stated as he saw the Aurora and her consorts tighten their formation and advance toward the battling vipers and raiders.

"Some of our ships are demanding that we withdraw," Leoben reported as frantic Cylons began to panic at the sudden appearance of this new and powerful fleet behind them. "They don't want to die!"

"Frak them," James spat, anger spreading across his face. "Our heavy raiders can still turn this; a massive nuclear strike will annihilate this new fleet! Order our heavy raiders in!"

…

Admiral Stone watched his view screens and the operation's table carefully. "All ships independent targeting of Cylon ships. Admiral Crius, Admiral Reed, and Admiral Murray hit them hard and make it count!"

The Aires turned slightly as Commander Davis brought the bow up to align with the largest Cylon Basestar. It was already heavily damaged from several Hades missiles and two of its spires were missing. He knew that this had to be the Cylon Command Ship. "KEW batteries fire!" he ordered the tactical officer. "Reload Hades 2 missiles in bow tubes and standby to launch." He felt elated; the Cylons were learning what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a massive unexpected attack.

More missiles struck the Cylon fleet. Heavy KEW rounds tore through the thinly armored hulls ripping jagged holes in Cylon ships. Explosions and fires ran rampant across Basestars and Support Ships as they tried to engage this new danger that had suddenly appeared at the rear of their fleet.

…

Cylon heavy raiders began jumping around the joint Demeter and Kobolan force. The heavy raiders fired their loads of nuclear missiles at these new ships as soon as their systems stabilized from the jump. Many of the raiders were blown away as laser fire from numerous defensive turrets opened up. Some missiles began striking the Kobolan and Demeter ships slipping through the heavy defensive fire. Nuclear fire rolled across the formation. Several ships vanished from view as multiple nuclear strikes struck their defensive screens.

Cavil yelled with glee seeing the nuclear explosions on his view screen. Then the ships reappeared undamaged and heavy laser fire continued blowing Cylon heavy raiders out of space. The look of exultation on Cavil's face faded as dark realization began to set in.

"Energy screens, just as reported back at the battle at their secret base," Simon commented shaking his head his eyes wide with concern and a hint of growing fear. "The nuclear strike failed and they are wiping out our heavy raiders with defensive lasers!"

James stared at the view screen in disbelief as the Basestar began to shudder from incoming KEW rounds from the Aires. More consoles and view screens erupted in sparks and then crashed to the deck. Several small fires broke out and smoke began to fill the Command Center. The ship began to moan and make noises indicating that it was being torn apart. In a daze, James looked around the Command Center at the other human form Cylons, unsure of what to do.

…

Admiral Stone watched as his ships fired heavy KEW rounds into the Cylon fleet ripping massive holes in the ships. The smaller twin KEW turrets were adding their firepower and small explosions could be seen racing across the hulls of the targeted Basestars and Support Ships. Hades 2 missiles were continually being fired as new targets were selected and the missiles locked on. Unforgiving Nuclear fire rained death and destruction down upon the Cylon fleet.

In the Cylon formation Basestars were burning, Support Ships were being shattered as Hades 2 missiles and heavy KEW rounds either blew or tore them apart. Most of the Cylons raiders were on the wrong side of the fleet formation and could not stop the incoming missiles. The few that had managed to get between the two fleets were having little success shooting down the Hades 2 missiles. The missiles ECM systems were seeing to that. The few defensive batteries the Basestars were equipped with were also woefully inadequate to destroy the incoming missiles.

Fourteen hundred fresh vipers from Admiral Stone's ships struck the wall of raiders, which Admiral Clement's ships were just beginning to penetrate. Fireballs rolled through the raider formation as the new vipers made their first kills. The odds had suddenly become much more even.

…

"I don't know where the frak they came from," Sarah spoke excitedly over her com system to her squadron. "But we may just survive this after all!"

"I am getting reports of another Colonial fleet," Mathew reported sounding confused. "There are also reports of other unidentified vessels firing on the Cylons."

"We will sort all that out when this is over, for now let's just kill Cylons!" Sarah spoke jubilantly as she squeezed off several rounds from her 20 millimeter cannons blasting apart another raider.

…

Cavil was astonished and confused. Just a few minutes ago, he had a sure victory. Now he had lost over twenty ships and more were disappearing off the

Dradis even as he watched. "Order the nuclear missiles fired on Caprica we will destroy the humans on the ground!" he ordered with madness showing in his eyes as he felt everything crashing down around him. His plans, the death of the humans, becoming the Cylon Imperious Leader, all were vanishing before his eyes.

"The Centurions are refusing to fire the missiles at Caprica," Kelvin Doral reported as he tried repeatedly to fire the missiles at Caprica from his station. "They will not fire the missiles until the Centurions on the ground are safely away from the blast zones."

"Frak" Cavil screamed as the Aurora and the Olympia both fired their MPL cannons at his fleet destroying a Basestar and another Support Ship. On the screens, heavy missile fire could now be seen between the two fleets as well as between the new Colonial forces at his back. Several Basestars were maneuvering to attack this new Colonial force, but Cavil knew it was too late. He had already lost too many ships.

"We must withdraw or risk losing our entire fleet," Kelvin Doral said as another Support Ship vanished from the Dradis.

""Yes we must withdraw, too many of our brothers and sisters are dying," Simon added turning to face James.

"I agree," Mark Conoy added his voice to the others. "We must withdraw while we still have a fleet left."

Two more Basestars exploded under the intensified attack from Clement's fleet. Several Support Ships and another Basestar died as nuclear strikes from the new fleet at his rear wiped them off the Dradis.

"Very well order all ships to fall back to Cylon, we are leaving the Colonies," James ordered savagely as he looked at a view screen, which showed the Aurora blasting a Support Ship that had ventured to close. The Support Ship exploded in a ball of fire as the Aurora fired her MPLs. Knowing that Clements had once more defeated him was gnawing at his guts, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. "Recall as many of our raiders as possible, we won't be able to save them all, but we can recover some of them."

…

Admiral Stone on the Aires watched as the Mercury Class Battlestar and her five escorting Jupiter Class Battlestars neared the now shattered Cylon formation. "All ships target the Command Basestar, I don't want it escaping!"

Moments later, all six ships fired their heavy KEW batteries as well as twenty Hades 2 missiles. Death and revenge for all the dead of the Colonies was on its way toward the Cylon Command Ship.

…

A warning alarm sounded in the Basestar drawing Cavil's attention. He saw the numerous missile tracks and felt the Basestar shake violently, and then everything turned fiery red as the nukes exploded sending Cavil and the Cylon Command Basestar into oblivion. Future Imperious Leader of the New Cylon Empire James Cavil was no more! A massive burning nuclear fireball was all that remained of the Cylon Command Ship.

Moments later the surviving Cylon ships began to vanish as they activated their FTL drives and fled back to Cylon. The war with the Twelve Colonies was over! The other Cylons did not want to die. They would return to Cylon and re-evaluate this new situation.

…

Admiral Clements looked at the Dradis screen as the surviving Cylon ships began vanishing leaving many of their raiders behind. Without a means of refueling and rearming plus with the fresh vipers from Admiral Stone's ships, they were rapidly being eliminated even though they did manage to inflict more damage. When it was finally over two more Firestars were gone as well as the Jupiter Class Battlestar Magellan, which had been destroyed when it collided with a heavily damaged Cylon Basestar.

"They're jumping out," Commander Cain spoke eyeing the Dradis screen. "They know they are beaten and are leaving. Caprica is ours!"

"Order our vipers to finish off the surviving raiders," Clements ordered seeing that many of them were being left behind.

Turning his head slightly he looked at one of the view screens which showed a surprisingly large warship in Admiral Stone's fleet. The picture was coming from a raptor that had been sent to see just who these unknowns were.

"Frak that's a big ship," Commander Cain uttered gazing at the screen. "She's covered with weapons. Not only that, but we are receiving unconfirmed reports that these ships have defensive lasers and some type of energy shield."

"Those ships are not Colonial," Admiral Clements replied deep in thought. Just who were these people with Admiral Stone and where had he found them?

…

Several Cylon ships had not been able to jump because of their FTLs being either severely damaged or destroyed; these were annihilated in nuclear fire from additional Hades 2 missile strikes. Admiral Stone began to relax as he realized what had just happened. The Cylons were gone!

"It's nearly over," Commander Davis commented as he watched the remaining Cylon raiders being rapidly eliminated. The vipers of the two fleets were rapidly destroying the Cylon raiders. Most of the raiders were either out of munitions or almost out.

"Then we need to meet with Admiral Clements," Admiral Stone replied feeling a little apprehensive about that meeting.

Jason didn't know how the fleet Admiral would feel when he found out that the joint Demeter and Kobolan fleet had been in the Colonies for several days. Particularly when he learned that they had been at Picon, but hadn't been able to get into position quickly enough to prevent Clement's ship losses. There were parts of that meeting that he knew would not go well.

…

Major Sarah Wells smiled as she watched Lieutenant Everett blow the last raider out of space. Mathew still flew beside her and she felt relieved when she saw the Warstar Olympia floating in space below her. She could see that her brother's ship had been heavily damaged, but it had survived and she knew from the com traffic she had been monitoring that so had he.

Checking her screens Sarah saw that twenty-two of her pilots were still with her. She could see numerous emergency beacons blinking on her screens and she hoped that others from her squadron were still alive awaiting rescue. Many of her pilots had died; some had been with her for many long months. However, Mathew had survived and so had Cindy, even though Cindy's wingman Lieutenant Boyles had died in this last raider attack. Her squadron commander, Captain Taggert had also managed to pull through.

"Alright everyone let's head back to the Aurora, I think we all deserve some downtime," Sarah ordered over her squadron com. "I also want to find out who our new friends are!"

As her depleted squadron headed back to the Aurora, Sarah wondered about Mathew. What they had said to each other was going to change their relationship even more, only time would tell what their revelations about how they felt abut each other would bring.

Aboard the Olympia Commander David Wells looked over the latest damage reports. The MPL cannon had been heavily damaged and the rest of the ship's weapons were down to less then 50 percent. His ship was going to need some major dock time. Looking over the reports from the rest of the ships that had been attached to his command, he saw that nearly every ship was going to need major repairs. The big question was where had the Aires and her ships come from. There had been no sign of other surviving Colonial ships for months.

…

Admiral Clements looked over the final damage report assessments. Both of the Defense Stations were heavily damaged. Weapons status for each was below twenty percent. Then there were the ship losses. The Jupiter Class Battlestar Magellan, the Columbia Two Class Battlestar Medusa, six Firestars, two Warstars, and two Gunstars all wiped out. The rest of the fleet damaged to one extent or another. In exchange, they had taken out nineteen Cylon Basestars and twenty-four of their Support Ships. Looking at the totals from the battle at Picon and here at Caprica Admiral Clements knew that they had probably driven the Cylons away from the Colonies, at least for a while.

The new ships from Admiral Stone's Battle Groups had taken up a defensive orbit around Caprica. In another two hours, all the Admirals were due to meet on the Aurora. He had a lot of questions to ask. Where had Admiral Stone come from, and where were the other mysterious ships that were with him from? He took a deep breath. It was just now dawning on him that Caprica was free. Once the ground operation was launched, the planet would be once more under Colonial control. He closed his eyes and said a brief prayer of thanks to the ancient Gods of Kobol. He just wished his family, his wife and son, had lived to see this day. The plan that Admiral Corman, Admiral Nagala, and he had worked out so many years ago had succeeded. Not quite as planned, but Caprica would soon be free once more.


	30. Chapter 30

**DAY 371**

**BATTLESTAR AURORA**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

Admiral Clements looked at the numerous view screens around the CIC, which showed the condition of the surviving fleet as well as the Defensive Satellites. He felt anguish at what they showed. Huge ragged holes had been blown in the armor of both Defense Satellites. The rest of the satellite's armored hulls were dented and scorched from multiple missile strikes. It was amazing that the two satellites had survived. Major fires still raged in the interiors of the both. They were just now being brought under control. Additional damage control teams had been dispatched from Admiral Stockwell's fleet to help.

The Indram was in better shape, but Colonel Styles had reported that it would be weeks before the station was even close to being in a battle ready state. The station's landing bays were so heavily damaged that her remaining vipers and raptors had to be landed on fleet ships.

The fleet itself looked very ragged. With scarred armor and visible damage where Cylon missiles had managed to penetrate defensive armor and explode inside the ships themselves. Numerous ships had jagged holes in their armor, entire sections were exposed to vacuum, and damage control teams were still working to reach isolated areas in some of the warships. After looking at the extent of the damage to his fleet, Admiral Clements was not sure if they could have survived the battle with the Cylon fleet, even with the addition of Admiral Stockwell's ships.

"We took a pounding," Commander Cain said standing next to Admiral Clements his hands folded behind his back gazing at the screens. "A number of ships are reporting that their FTL drives were damaged in the nuclear strike. Some will require complete replacement. Damage control teams are working on the Aurora trying to repair our own heavy battle damage. Especially to the landing bay. We can get the ship back to full operation in about sixteen hours, but we will need some serious dock time to make the repairs permanent."

"Our guests should be arriving shortly," Admiral Clements commented seeing several raptors nearing the Aurora.

His eyes shifted to another pair of view screen, which showed the Battlestar Aries and the Kobolan Battle Cruiser Zeus. Frak those Kobolan Battle Cruisers were monsters, he thought gazing at the powerful warship. He could still recall his shock when Admiral Stone had explained to him just who those powerful warship belonged to. It was hard to imagine that somewhere out there in space there was another Kobolan colony. One they had never heard about or had any contact with. It made one wonder just what else may be out there waiting to be discovered.

He also wanted to have a private talk at some point with Admiral Stone. Why hadn't the Admiral contacted them sooner? Why hadn't they engaged the Cylons quicker before so much serious damage had been inflicted on the surviving Colonial fleet? How long had they been in the Colonies? He had decided to with hold judgment on the Admiral for now. At least until Admiral Stone had time to explain his actions!

"The Cylons seem to have left," Commander Cain commented with surprise in his voice as he listened to reports from various raptors they had sent to check on the other Colonies. "Our raptors are reporting no Cylon ships at all in the Caprica system or anywhere else."

Admiral Clements was silent for a moment as he mulled over that information. He had originally expected to be able to drive the Cylons away from Caprica, at least for a short period of time. However, when the Cylon fleet had retreated from Picon and jumped to Caprica it had changed the dynamics of Admiral Clement's plan.

The resulting fleet action had been much heavier then he had expected. He hadn't counted on the Cylons calling in their entire fleet from all the Colonies. If it wasn't for Admiral Stone and his ships, he knew that the Cylons would have wiped out his entire fleet and the orbiting Defense Stations with relative ease. The Cylons would have suffered losses but the Colonial forces would not have been able to stop them. He didn't know if the Cylons would have been able to carry their victory on over to Caprica and Deep Shelter Base. The base and the surrounding area were heavily defended.

"Send a raptor to Picon and bring the Assaultstars and marine ships here," Clements ordered looking at a screen, which showed Caprica floating peacefully beneath them with all its blue oceans, green countryside, and pristine white cloud layers. "We need to mop up the Centurions down on Caprica while we have the opportunity."

"Sir our visitors have arrived and are being escorted to the main conference room,"  
the com officer reported.

"We better contact General Ashton at Deep Shelter Base and tell him the change in plans," Commander Cain commented gazing once more at one of the view screen, which showed the large 1,500-meter battle cruiser Zeus. It was obviously more powerful then a Battlestar and not Colonial. "They will need to launch a full scale ground assault on the Cylon positions once the Assaultstars get here. There are still a lot of Centurions down on Caprica and they will have to be dealt with."

**DEEP SHELTER BASE CAPRICA**

General Ashton leaned back in his command chair almost in shock at the words he had just heard from Admiral Clements. There were four Assaultstars on the way with full loads of Marines and equipment. The rest of his Command Staff also looked stunned. They had watched the fleet battle from their Command Center and at one point had expected to see Admiral Clement's forces wiped out. No one had expected the Cylons to call in their entire fleet.

They knew that if the Cylons had succeeded in wiping out the Colonial forces above Caprica, they would have been next. The Cylons in all probability would have launched a preemptive nuclear strike against the Colonial held section of Caprica. General Ashton didn't know if their defenses would have held or not. If they didn't then the Cylons would have proceeded to wipe out what remained of the human presence on the Colonial Capital Planet, but the arrival of more Colonial ships under command of this mysterious Admiral Stone had changed everything.

Major Rice was the first to speak. "A full ground offensive," he exclaimed knowing all the planning that needed to go into such a large operation. "Are we ready for that? There are a lot of Cylon Centurions out there; they will not be easy to take out!"

"We can be," Colonel Edwards replied thinking furiously about what they would need to do. "We have nearly 100,000 trained marines, most of them are in position, our raptors are fully armed and ready, plus we still have all of our Archangel Bombers. We know the disposition of the Cylon forces surrounding us. The Assaultstars when they get here will obviously be used to take out all the Cylon's major bases. We will have air superiority and superior firepower. We will take some casualties, but we should be able to handle anything the Cylons still have left on Caprica. As long as their Basestars don't return."

"Little chance of that with the ships we have currently sitting in orbit," General Ashton commented. "The only real problem I see will be the major cities," he continued turning to look at a large map of Caprica on the wall. Many of the cities were encircled in red indicating a heavy Cylon presence.

"The Cylons have placed a lot of their Centurions in the cities where we can't get at them with our bombers. We will save those for last. Let's get the word out to our troops," standing General Ashton looked around at his Command Staff and then said the words he thought he would never get to utter. "Today we finally begin to free Caprica from the Cylons, today we take back our homes. We will not rest until every Cylon Centurion left on Caprica has been destroyed!"

"So say we all," the other officers replied in unison rising to their feet.

...

Admiral Clements entered the main conference room and everyone rose to attention. "At ease gentlemen," he spoke gesturing for everyone to sit down.

He looked at the four new Admirals sitting at the conference table. Admiral Murray he had met at several fleet functions, but the other three he didn't know.

"I guess I need to start at the beginning," the young Admiral seated in the middle of the others began. "It all started when Admiral Corman called me into his office after my Gunstar the Ajiat had completed a survey mission along the Armistice Line."

For nearly two hours, Admiral Stone covered the details of his original mission. How they set off with the new Colonization fleet, the finding of New Kobol, the attack of the Ovions, fleeing to the Delta Quadrant only to find Terra and the Kobolan survivors. He explained in detail the sitting up of the colony on Demeter and how the Kobolans had helped.

Then he told of how they had returned to Shadow Base, discovering the Aires on the way and rescuing her and her civilian fleet from the Cylons. How they had learned from Commander Davis of the fate of the Colonies. How they had returned to Shadow Base, and the battle against the Cylons, which cost Admiral Kronus his life. Admiral Stone spent a lot of time explaining the details of the battle, and how fortunate they were to have escaped with the civilian ships, as well as the second colonization fleet.

He told of the pursuit by the Cylons of the human fleet, chasing them across hundreds of light years of space far outside of the Cyrannus Cluster. The destruction of the pursuing Cylon force when the Ovion home world had exploded when its Tylium mines went up. Then finally, how they had updated their surviving ships with a combination of Kobolan and Colonial technology. The building of their new ships and returning with their Kobolan friends to help in the battle that had just occurred.

Admiral Clements, Admiral Reynolds, and Admiral Stockwell sat in near amazement listening to everything they were being told. Numerous times Admiral Stone was interrupted and asked to go into more detail. The more they heard the more the three sat in awe at what Admiral Corman had set in motion. If he could only know just how his simple colonization mission had turned out.

"All this is amazing," Admiral Clements said when Admiral Stone finally fell into silence. "But after seeing the Kobolan ships and with Admiral Crius sitting here with us, there can be no doubt you are speaking the truth."

"There are still a lot of unanswered questions," Admiral Reynolds said.

"I will want to see your ships logs," Admiral Clements spoke looking at the four Admirals. "Admiral Crius I know you are not Colonial and not under my command, but anything you can furnish me will be appreciated."

"I think I can arrange something," Admiral Crius replied nodding.

"Admiral Stone, after I have examined your ships logs I will want to meet with you again," Admiral Clements spoke looking across the table at the young Admiral. "There are some unanswered questions that I would like answered in private regarding some of your command decisions."

It was at that moment that Commander Cain's voice came over the Admiral's mini com, which he was wearing in his right ear.

"Sir we have five unidentified raptors that have just jumped into Dradis range," Commander Cain spoke suddenly over Admiral Clement's mini com, which the Admiral had left on so the Commander could keep him apprised of any important developments. "Four of them are very heavily armed!"

"Where are they from?" Admiral Clements asked quietly wondering what was going on now. This day had already been full of enough surprises.

"The pilot of the fifth raptor says he is from Aquaria and is carrying governor Dyson on board, and holy frak, he says he has Vice President Urie on board!" Commander Cain continued in a stunned voice.

Admiral Clements eyes widened at the news. "Have you confirmed that Commander?

"Yes sir, they are insistent that they have the Vice President with them."

"The Vice President of the Colonies is supposedly approaching us in a raptor from Aquaria," Admiral Clements spoke to the assembled group of Admirals. He knew the Vice President very well.

"Impossible," Admiral Stockwell spoke in disbelief shaking his head. "This must be some type of Cylon trick. They might be trying to sneak nukes aboard the Aurora!"

"Commander Cain have you scanned the raptors for nuclear ordinance?" Admiral Clements asked still finding it hard to believe that the Vice President could have survived. He would have been a primary target of the Cylons in the original attack.

"Yes sir," Commander Cain replied. "It was one of the first things we did. All five raptors show up clean. The four escorting raptors are armed with interceptors. I have a full squadron of vipers currently on station around them."

Admiral Clements thought for a moment. He had met both Governor Dyson and the Vice President several times. For a moment, he wondered if there was any way this could be a Cylon trick. Governor Dyson was a reasonable man and had been a very popular leader on Aquaria. The Vice President had been opposed to many of President Adar's defense cuts and many believed that he had only been nominated by Adar to fill that position to calm the fears of the defense establishment.

"Have the raptor escorted in, I want a full marine guard present when it has landed," Clements ordered. "Have the Governor and the Vice President escorted to the main conference room. We will be waiting."

"What was the Vice President doing on Aquaria?" Admiral Reynolds asked looking confused. "I thought he was on Caprica when the Cylon attack began."

"I guess we will find out soon enough," Admiral Clements replied also wondering how the Vice President of the Colonies had ended up on Aquaria.

A few minutes later, the Vice President and Governor Dyson were escorted into the conference room. Everyone rose as they entered when they recognized that it was indeed the Vice President of the Colonies.

"Admiral Clements," the Vice President said with a relieved friendly smile on his face reaching out to shake the Admiral's hand. "I am glad to see that you survived!"

"Thank you Mister Vice President," Admiral Clements replied respectfully. "Allow me to introduce you to the people present. I believe you have previously met Admiral Reynolds of BSG 15 and Admiral Stockwell of BSG 9. These other Admirals are from a special deep space mission of Admiral Cormans doing. They are Admiral Stone, Admiral Reed, Admiral Murray, and Admiral Crius."

"Shadow Base," the Vice President spoke surprising everyone. "Yes I was aware of Admiral Corman building that secret facility. I even knew about the colonization plan. I kept his little secret from the President and from the looks of things, I am very glad that I did."

The Vice President noticed that one of the Admirals was wearing a uniform that was not Colonial standard. Gesturing to everyone to set down the Vice President looked around the assembled group. "You have no idea how pleased I am to see all of you. We had feared that the fleet was gone. We knew that there was a resistance movement on Caprica, but we could not communicate with it. Not with Cylon Basestars constantly in orbit around Aquaria. We didn't want them to know just how badly their attack on Aquaria had failed."

"What do you mean failed?" Admiral Reynolds inquired looking confused. "Our reports indicate that Aquaria was hit with 50-megaton nukes just like all the other Colonies. We have made long range scans of Aquaria; all the surface cities have been leveled."

"That's correct Admiral," Governor Dyson responded folding his hands and looking at the Admiral. "But you must remember that Aquaria is primarily a water world. The majority of our cities are under the surface. Some are very deep beneath the water," he paused catching his breath looking at the faces of the assembled group. "In the initial Cylon attack all the surface cities and defense installations were nuked from orbit. The Cylons hit every known underwater city with nukes, but the explosions were all on the surface. I guess the Cylons believed that the downward pressure from a 50-megaton nuke would crack all the domes and flood or destroy the cities so targeted. A lot of the shallow cities were indeed destroyed in this manner, but the Cylons badly underestimated the strength of our domes. Many of the deeper cities survived. All of our underwater cities are connected by travel tubes located beneath the sea floor. After the initial Cylon attack, we cut off all communication that might be detected and decided to play dead. It seemed to work because the Cylons never checked to see if all the underwater cities had been destroyed. Since they could detect no active communication systems, we believe they felt like their attacks had succeeded."

"Just how many people survived?" Admiral Clements asked. "If I remember correctly there were nearly 3.5 billion people on Aquaria."

"Many of them died unfortunately," the Vice President responded sadly remembering the attack and the panic that had swept the colony. "From what the Governor and I have been able to determine nearly 1.8 billion people died when the surface was nuked in the first few hours of the attack. While there was not a lot of landmass on Aquaria as there is on the other Colonies, it was very heavily populated. All the shallow under water cities were destroyed. This accounted for nearly 1.5 billion other casualties in the civilian population. A number of the deep domes were also damaged and many of the civilians inside drowned."

"So how many survived?" Admiral Clements said in a quiet voice. "Are you telling me that there are a large number of survivors on Aquaria?"

The Governor and the Vice President looked at each other before the Vice President responded. "Yes Admiral, we have nearly 22 million survivors in the deep underwater cities."

Clements leaned back in his chair finding it hard to believe what he had just heard, 22 million survivors. They had another 8 million at least on Caprica and several million back in the nebula if they counted the survivors they had just rescued from Picon and Celeen 2. He wondered how many other survivors they might find on the other Colonies.

The meeting went on for several hours. It seemed that when the Cylons had attacked, a raptor had been sent by Admiral Corman to pick up the Vice President and take him to safety had never arrived. The Vice President had been inspecting one of the new underwater travel tubes on Aquaria when the attack began. For months, they had tried to pick up any communication from any survivors on other Colonies, but the ever present Cylon Basestars made communication impossible. They dared not risk the Cylons discovering that a large civilian population had survived. Only recently had they intercepted a few Colonial messages from Caprica.

"You can imagine our surprise when the Cylon Basestars left Aquaria. We sent out a raptor to find out what was going on. You can imagine our complete amazement when it returned and reported that a major battle was going on over Caprica between the Cylon fleet and a large Colonial fleet," the Vice President paused looking at Admiral Clements. "You must understand Admiral that we believed the Colonial fleet had been completely wiped out. We had a hard time believing what the raptor pilot was telling us. Our last reports indicated that Admiral Davidson and Admiral Nagala had been defeated and that the Colonial fleet had been destroyed in the original Cylon attack. We sent the raptor back and it watched the battle from a distance. When it returned and reported that you had defeated the Cylon forces and that they had left, we decided it was time to make our presence known. We didn't want to take the risk of your fleet leaving and not knowing that we had survived."

The door to the conference room opened and Colonel Adams stepped in. Admiral Clements looked up at the Colonel in surprise. It was not like him to interrupt an important meeting. Colonel Adams looked the Admiral in the eyes and a pleased smile crossed the Colonel's face. Then turning he gestured to a Colonel Major who was standing behind him. The young man stepped into the room and Admiral Clements rose to his feet in shock as he immediately recognized the young Major. For a moment, he could feel himself start to tremble.

The others in the room looked to see who had entered. "This is Major Martin Clements," Colonel Adams spoke with a smile crossing his face. "He has been held captive on Celeen 2 for the last 371 days. He is the Admiral's son!"

Everyone in the room looked at each other in surprise, and then the Vice President rose. "I think we can continue this meeting later, let's give these two some privacy. The Vice President and the rest filed out of the room until only Admiral Clements and his son remained.

"Martin?" Johnathan spoke in a horse and suddenly very weak voice.

"Yes Dad," Martin replied walking over to his father who seemed suddenly at a loss for words.

Admiral Clements had thought his entire family was dead, killed in the original Cylon attack. He had believed that he had no surviving relatives. Now here was Martin, standing within arms reach. Clements reached out and put his arms around his son drawing him close. For the first time since the Cylons had attacked the Colonies, the Admiral let loose his emotions and cried. Martin just held him, they were family, and they were back together!

_Author's note: There is still one chapter left. However, it needs a major rewrite to take into account all of the small changes I have made in this story since I originally wrote it. This story was originally written before Gunstar Titania or Cylon Strike. I have made adjustments throughout this story to take those two stories into account._

_The final chapter will be a surprise and I believe everyone will enjoy the ending I have planned. There will be a few loose ends since there are still two more stories coming later. However, most questions will be answered in the final chapter. It will probably be two weeks before I have the final chapter rewritten and ready to submit. _

_Thank You for reading Commandstar Aurora. It has been a lot of fun and I really appreciate the reviews. _


	31. Chapter 31

_**The conclusion of this story turned out to be much longer than I had planned. As a result, it will be two chapters.**_

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA THE CONCLUSION PART ONE**

**DAY 372**

**CYLON HOME WORLD**

The heavy raider appeared in a flash of white light in high orbit above the Cylon home world. Melissa screamed in fright as the Centurion piloting the heavy raider suddenly altered course and barely missed the Basestar that was on a collision course with them.

"Where the frak did that Basestar come from!" Lisa cried in anger looking out the heavily reinforced cockpit window. "There are not supposed to be any ships in this orbit!"

"I don't know," Melissa replied gaining back her composure. Then looking at the Dradis screen, Melissa leaned back in her seat in surprise. "The fleets here!"

"It can't be!" Lisa exclaimed climbing out of her seat and stepping forward to gaze at the Dradis screen over Melissa's shoulder. Sure enough, the Dradis screen showed numerous Basestars and Support Ships in orbit over the planet. "Perhaps the ships are Darien's or John's, they may have returned while we were gone."

"I'm scanning the ships now," Melissa spoke as she activated several of the heavy raider's scanning systems. She studied the data coming across the computer terminal for a moment then announced with a hint of concern in her voice, "It's James's fleet. The scanners show massive battle damage to most of the ships."

"But how, what happened," Lisa responded as she continued to look over Melissa's shoulder studying the information with a look of worry on her face. "Admiral Clements didn't have the necessary forces to inflict this much damage on the fleet. James should have been able to destroy the Colonial forces with the raiders and the Basestars!"

Melissa checked the fleet numbers and then frowned feeling confused. From the ships showing up on the Dradis screen, she knew that 19 Basestars were missing and 24 Support Ships. From the data they were getting a number of the ships currently in orbit were so heavily damaged that repairing them was not an option. Several of the Basestars were missing entire spires or had massive holes blasted in their sides. A large number of the Support Ships were even worse; numerous jagged holes pot marked their hulls from KEW rounds and missile strikes. This was not a fleet returning home in victory, but in defeat.

"I don't see the Command Ship," Lisa commented looking at the ship IDs on the Dradis. "James may not have survived!"

"Then let's set this heavy raider down on the surface," Melissa replied wondering just what the frak had happened after they left. The heavy raider didn't have the FTL jump range of a Basestar or Support Ship. It had been necessary to do a series of short jumps in order to return to the home world. This had taken up valuable time.

"We need to meet with our respective lines immediately," Lisa spoke nodding her head in agreement. "I'm afraid that something bad has happened. James may have doomed us all!"

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

**HIGH CAPRICA ORBIT**

Admiral Clements and his son Martin were in the CIC of the Aurora. On the main view screen, the large fleet tender Crescent had taken up position in a lower orbit beneath the battered Defense Satellites. The rest of the Demeter-Kobolan support ships had also arrived.

"I can't believe all that has happened," Martin spoke looking around the massive CIC in awe. "When we were prisoners on Celeen 2 there was a time when we thought that we were all going to die. Then we heard that you had survived, that there were still Colonial ships fighting the Cylons. That hope is what kept us alive."

"I just wish we could have come sooner," Johnathan replied looking at his son.

Martin was very thin and his face still had that haggard look upon it from his long captivity. Johnathan knew that it would be months before his son recovered physically. The mental anguish from that captivity would probably last much longer. They had spent part of a quiet evening together. Johnathan had explained the events that had occurred since the attack, and Martin had spent some time talking about his captivity and how he had survived the destruction of the training Battlestar Pegasus.

"We were in the starboard flight pod waiting to die. We only had a few hours of power left," Martin had spoken recalling the end when Admiral Davidson's fleet had been defeated. "Then the Cylons boarded us and took us captive. There were nearly 200 of us. When you finally rescued us only 87 were still alive."

"A lot of people have died," Johnathan replied nodding his head sadly. "Everyone that survived lost most of their families. Even when we start to rebuild, I fear the ramifications of those losses will affect us for years if not decades to come."

Admiral Clements returned his thoughts back to the present. Looking at his son, he felt an internal warmth knowing that he was not alone.

"This ship is amazing," Martin continued gazing at a screen, which showed Caprica floating serenely beneath them. "It's sad to know we could have had this technology available to resist the Cylons. If we had the Aurora with Admiral Davidson's fleet or Admiral Nagala's we might have been able to prevent the Fall.

"That's why the Cylons sabotaged her," Johnathan replied looking at his son. "Her advanced computer firewalls would have detected the Cylon virus and stopped it."

"I talked to one of the ship's doctors today," Martin continued with a frown crossing his face. "He says it will be several months before I can fly again."

"You were a pretty good flight instructor on the Pegasus," Johnathan replied knowing that Martin wanted to get back to working in the fleet again. "You may not be cleared to fly, but we can always use a good instructor for the new pilots we're training. If you are interested I can arrange that."

Martin was quiet for a moment, and then nodded his head. "Yes, I think I would like that, there are several other members of my former crew that would be good flight instructors also. I met Major Wells yesterday while I was taking a tour of the ship. I was very impressed by her. You don't realize just how large this ship is until you walk across one of the landing bays."

"It's the largest and most modern ship we have," Johnathan replied. Then he turned his gaze to one of the view screens, which showed one of the Kobolan Battle Cruisers. "Or at least it was."

Two hours later Admiral Clements was sitting in a small conference room awaiting the arrival of Admiral Stone and Admirals Crius. He had spent part of the night going over Admiral Stone's log books. He had some serious questions that needed to be answered.

The two Admirals entered the room and Admiral Clements rose. "Gentlemen if you will be seated I have some questions for you. I felt it would be best if we held this session to just ourselves."

Jason took a seat across from the Admiral with a troubling feeling of apprehension spreading through his guts. He knew that he had a lot of explaining to do for his actions. He just hoped the way everything had turned out would get him and his Command Staff through this.

Admiral Clements looked piercingly at the young Admiral with a hard frown. "From your log books I know that your fleet arrived in this system several days ago, not only that, but you have had the Colonies under surveillance for months. There has been a Colonial fleet in orbit around Caprica all that time. Why the frak didn't you contact us? Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of lives could have been saved!"

"He was not allowed to contact you originally Admiral Clements," Admiral Crius spoke up calmly meeting the Admiral eyes unflinchingly. "The surveillance was conducted by Kobolan Battle Cruisers and their Commanders had explicit instructions from the Kobolan President not to contact any surviving Colonial forces."

"Why not!" Admiral Clements demanded focusing his gaze on Admiral Crius.

"We were aware of the human form Cylons and the danger they represented," Admiral Crius replied in a calm well-measured voice. "We discovered several in the Aires Fleet when they arrived at Demeter. It was considered to big a threat to inform you of our presence in case word got back to the Cylons. We needed time to complete the orbital defenses around Demeter, to repair and update all the Colonial warships that had escaped to the Delta Quadrant, as well as begin new ship construction."

"You have to understand Admiral that for hundreds of years my people lived under the threat of the Ovion race," Crius continued recalling how that fear had guided Terra's actions for so many years. "They destroyed our original colonies and we were forced to flee to the Delta Quadrant. When Admiral Stone managed to trick the Cylons into inadvertently destroying the Ovion home world, it lifted a huge ever-hanging threat from our people. We were not yet ready to take on another foe in a major war, at least not until we were more prepared. We couldn't take the risk of the Cylons finding out we existed. That's why our cruiser Commanders were instructed to avoid contact."

"Admiral Murray was aboard a Kobolan Battle Cruiser when you launched your initial attack to resupply the civilians on Caprica," Admiral Stone added. He looked directly into Admiral Clement's eyes. "We had established a series of subspace communication buoys which allowed communication between Demeter and the Kobolan surveillance ships. He begged to be allowed to contact your ships over Caprica. I contacted the Kobolans, and they recommended against it. It was one of the hardest orders I had to give when I told him he couldn't make contact and let you know there were other survivors."

Admiral Clements was silent for a moment. This was hard news to digest. As a Commander, he understood the importance the Kobolans had placed on keeping their existence a secret from the Cylons, particularly after their experience with the Ovions. He knew that if he had been in their place he might have done the same thing. Establishing Demeter's defenses, repairing and updating the Colonial warships, initiating new construction, all these were valid arguments.

"I can accept that," Admiral Clements replied finally knowing he really had no choice. "But what about Picon, your fleet was there! We lost three Battlestars, six Firestars, two Warstars, two Gunstars, and nearly 20,000 fleet personnel. If you had made contact with us prior to the battle, most of those losses could have been prevented! With the addition of your ships, the Cylons would not have dared to engage us."

Admiral Stone looked down at the table for a moment. He knew he might have made a mistake in not contacting Admiral Clements when they had detected his ships at Picon. He knew that if his ships had joined with Admiral Clement's fleet in attacking the Cylons at Picon and Celeen 2, the outcome would have been the same, but with fewer ship losses.

"We were not aware of the tactical situation or your battle plan," Jason began looking at Admiral Clements. "We decided to allow you to jump in and engage the Cylons. It would keep them distracted and allow us to get into position. We would then jump in at a distance where the Cylons couldn't detect our FTL signatures and use our subspace drives to come in on the Cylon's rear undetected. Our stealth systems are very good."

"I'm aware of that," Admiral Clements spoke in a neutral voice waiting for Admiral Stone to continue.

"We were nearly in range to attack when the Cylons withdrew," Jason continued. "We had hoped to annihilate the majority of their fleet at Picon. We jumped out and checked our Electronics Surveillance ship to see where they had gone. When we learned they had jumped to Caprica, we followed. The rest you know."

"Admiral Clements, there was no way we could estimate what your ship losses would be at Picon," Admiral Crius began. "Our plan seemed sound and it would have eliminated a major portion of the Cylon fleet if it had worked. In hindsight, perhaps it is true we should have contacted you upon detecting your fleet at Picon. However, look at what happened as a result of our fleet coming to Caprica. We defeated the Cylons decisively; they have withdrawn from your Colonies. I would also like to add that thanks to Admiral Stone, the Ovions were removed as a major threat to Terra. The Kobolan government would take a very dim view of future relations if Admiral Stone was to be removed from his current position."

Admiral Clements was silent for a long minute as he thought. It wasn't surprising that the Kobolans would support Admiral Stone. Frak he couldn't blame them. The trap he had set for the Cylons at the Ovion home world was genius. While he couldn't agree with all of Admiral Stone's decisions, Caprica was free and the Cylons, at least for now, were gone from the Colonies.

"Very well," Admiral Clements replied with a slight nod of his head. "Admiral Stone you will maintain your current command. However, in the future you will keep me informed. Is that clear!"

"Yes sir," Admiral Stone replied with relief. Then looking over at Admiral Crius who nodded imperceptivity back he continued. "Sir in my log book, did I happen to mention that we know where the Cylon home world is?"

Admiral Clements leaned back in his chair in stunned surprise. This meeting was going to take a lot longer then he had thought.

**DAY 373**

**CYLON HOME WORLD**

The Cylons were meeting in the Hall of Knowledge beneath the only city on their home world. The planet was only marginally habitable. A small ten-degree strip around the planet's equator was green and able to sustain life. In this area, the Cylons had constructed their only city as well as numerous automated and robot controlled factories for their war effort.

The city was called Cylon Prime and resembled a small modern Colonial city in many respects. It was full of green belts of vegetation, homes, office buildings, and other facilities necessary to run Cylon civilization. The city was designed to hold a working population of 700,000 or 100,000 each of the seven Cylon lines. The Cylon population was actually much higher with many models assigned to Basestars, Support Ships, Cargo ships, mining operations, shipyards, and other Cylon bases.

Deep beneath the city was the Hall of Knowledge. It was named this because the Cylon Mainframe computer lay in a heavily armored vault beneath. The Cylon Mainframe computer had been downloaded with all the information from the original at the end of the first Cylon war as part of the armistice agreement. The sentient computer had guided them ever since.

Inside the Hall of Knowledge complex was a massive room measuring forty meters in width and two hundred meters in length. The walls and ceiling of the room were painted with large murals depicting scenes from the first Cylon war. Rumor had it that the murals had been painted by Daniel, the only member of his line, before he mysteriously vanished. At one end of the room massive view screens, control consoles, and access to the data stream were visibly apparent manned by members of all seven of the Cylon lines. There was also an interface for the Mainframe that several Ones were standing before. At the other end of the room was a heavily armored golden door. Behind it and down several levels was the Mainframe. In front of the door, four heavily armed Centurions stood an ever-vigilant guard. A large conference table was in the center of the room. Currently seven human form Cylons were standing at one end of the large table arguing.

"The war with the humans is over," Melissa repeated her eyes moving across the group standing around her. "Our fleet is in no condition for another battle; our last Command Ship has been destroyed as well!"

"I don't believe that," Stephen Cavil spoke in heated disagreement. "We need to repair our battle damage and reengage the humans before they become stronger. One of our regular Basestars can function as a new Command Ship."

"You don't seem to understand," Lisa, uttered frowning at Cavil in dismay at his suggestion. "The humans have already become too strong to attack again! If we do, we could lose our entire fleet."

Lisa and Melissa had been stunned when they had viewed the end of the battle at Caprica from the records transmitted down to the Hall of Knowledge from the orbiting Basestars. This new fleet that had jumped in was just too powerful to deal with. Both of the two female Cylons knew that their current fleet was not strong enough to attack the forces now in orbit around Caprica. Their entire lines agreed with them. This war must end!

"We need to plan our assault better," the Doral model commented moving to stand next to Cavil. "Once our ships are repaired and replenished with raiders we can attack. This time we know what we are going up against. We are better then the humans, they will be defeated!"

"In case you haven't noticed our fleet isn't in any kind of shape to attack anyone," a Leoben model spoke contemptuously looking at Doral. "There are nineteen Basestars in orbit including our home world defense fleet. Six of those Basestars have been deemed irreparable. Four of the others will take months to repair, and those can only be repaired by scavenging parts from the six that are irreparable."

"We still have a lot of heavy raiders left," Cavil spoke his eyes angry that the others couldn't see the need for the humans to be destroyed. "We can arm them with nukes and jump them into the midst of the human fleet. Once they have completed their attack, we move in with our remaining Basestars and Support Ships and finish the job!"

"Won't work," a Simon model spoke shaking his head disagreeing with Cavil's plan. "From the data we have studied, these new ships are armed with some type of defensive laser. They will destroy most of our heavy raiders before they can fire their missile payloads. I fear very few missiles will get through."

"Bah, I don't believe that," Cavil raved in anger glaring at the group. "The Plan must be completed. We are so close!"

"Stephen," Lisa spoke her blue eyes meeting Cavils. "Those new ships that attacked us. Some of them were the same ships that Darien went after. Darien and his fleet must have been destroyed. He had nearly a quarter of our entire fleet with him. If he could not defeat these new humans, how can we hope to?"

"They also possess defensive energy screens," Simon spoke recalling the data he had studied. "Those screens stayed up even under direct strikes from our nukes. Who knows what other capabilities they may have?"

"All the more reason to attack now," a Biers model spoke. She had been listening to the arguing between the other Cylon models. "If they are reinforced by more of these new ships, any chance of a successful attack against the humans will be gone. Perhaps forever."

"What does the Mainframe suggest?" Lisa asked glaring at Stephen. For some unknown reason the Mainframe would only communicate with the Ones. Stephen and the other Ones claimed it was because theirs was the first Cylon line created.

"The decision is ours to make," Stephen replied his eyes flashing angrily at Lisa. "The Mainframe will abide by whatever we decide."

All the models fell silent as they weighed his words.

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

**HIGH CAPRICA ORBIT**

"You want to do what!" Admiral Reynolds spoke not believing what he was hearing from Admiral Clements.

Admiral Reed was also in the small conference room and he was too stunned to even reply.

"I want you and Admiral Reed to draw up a battle plan to attack the Cylon home world," Clements repeated his eyes going from one to the other. "Admiral Reed has already been there and scouted the system just prior to the attack on the Colonies. The Cylon fleet is at its weakest and will require weeks if not months to repair the battle damage that we inflicted upon it. We hit them now and end this war forever!"

Admiral Reynolds was quiet for several long moments as he glanced at Admiral Reed and then back to Admiral Clements. "What do you think Admiral Reed?"

Is it possible?"

"We would need Admiral Crius's Battle Cruisers to stand any real chance," Admiral Reed finally replied as he recalled the defenses his ships had scanned that were around the Cylon home world. "They are the only ships we have that could get close enough to the planet to take out their orbital defenses and survive."

"I have already spoken briefly to Admiral Crius," Admiral Clements replied nodding his head in agreement. "If you can come up with a reasonable plan of attack, he will commit his warships."

"Very well," Admiral Reynolds replied leaning back in his chair as he began to think about several possible scenarios. "What about the Warstars Olympia and Athena? They were both heavily damaged in the battle."

"The Olympia is already being worked on by the fleet tender Crescent," Admiral Clements replied. "Her armor will be repaired as well as her weapon systems, the rest will have to wait, and then the Athena will be taken in. I am told it will take three days for each to have the essential repairs completed."

"Three days each," Admiral Reynolds gasped in surprise. "How is that possible?"

"The Crescent has a lot of Kobolan technology installed," Clements replied recalling his own surprise when he was told how quickly the essential repairs could be done. He had even gone over to the Crescent himself briefly to look at how the work was progressing. It had taken his breath away as he watched how effective Kobolan technology was.

"I will have our scans of the Cylon home system sent over," Admiral Reed spoke recalling the last and only time he had been in that system. They had become trapped in the system for a period of time, when a Cylon battle group had jumped nearly on top of his two ships. He had never thought he would be going back.

"Then I will leave you two to your planning," Admiral Clements spoke rising to his feet. "If you need to speak to any of the other Admirals, I will inform them that they are to make themselves available to you as needed." Admiral Clements left the small conference room leaving the two Admirals to begin speaking of different possible strategies.

**DAY 374**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

Sarah and Mathew were flying CAP around the now very large Colonial fleet. The two vipers were flying nearly side by side and if Sarah looked hard enough, she could see Mathew in his cockpit. They were flying past the fleet tender Crescent, which was currently working on repairing her brother's Warstar.

"The Crescent is larger than I had imagined," she commented as she banked her viper in a gentle turn gazing at the repair ship. It was hard to imagine that her brother's entire Warstar was tucked away inside the Crescent's large enclosed repair bay

"The Crescent is larger then a Mercury Class Battlestar," Mathew replied as they flew around the large ship. "She's nearly 1,500 meters long, as large as the Kobolan Battle Cruisers."

"The Kobolans," Sarah echoed back. "To think that in the Delta Quadrant we have a new Colonial colony on Demeter and the Kobolans on Terra. Another group of humans that left Kobol before the exodus of the thirteen tribes."

"Do you think Earth actually exists out there somewhere, waiting to be discovered?" Mathew asked recalling what his mother had taught him about the scrolls of Pythia.

"Why not!" Sarah replied as she pulled the nose of her viper up slightly and began heading toward a Kobolan Battle Cruiser. "I mean if the Kobolans survived and they have representatives of all thirteen tribes on their world, why couldn't Earth be out there somewhere also."

Mathew was silent as they approached the Kobolan Battle Cruiser; glancing at the name on the side of the ship, he saw that it was the Apollo. The ship's massive KEW turrets dominated the ship. Their large twin cannons pointed upward toward empty space. He knew from the reports that there were 32 of those huge twin turrets placed strategically upon the ship's hull, plus the six heavy KEW batteries on the bow. No wonder they had been able to blow the frak out of the Cylons!

"Energy screens and laser batteries," Mathew commented looking at the impressive ship. "Those KEW turrets and bow batteries are more powerful than anything we have on a Battlestar except for the Aurora."

"Why not?" Sarah replied. "I mean the Olympia and the Athena each have an MPL plus their own laser batteries. The Aurora has even more. We just don't have their energy screens."

The two slowly turned their vipers back towards the Aurora. The powerful fleet Commandstar was plainly visible in the distance with all of her running lights on. Behind her, flashes of light signified heavy work being done on the two Defense Satellites. "How about lunch tonight?" Mathew asked, he was already starting to feel hunger pains.

"Sure," Sarah replied smiling. Since their revelations about their feelings during the battle over Caprica, their relationship had been moving quickly toward a more romantic involvement. Unfortunately, Sarah knew that at some point in time they would not be allowed to fly together or be in the same squadron. Fleet regulations were quite specific about that.

**DEEP SHELTER BASE**

**CAPRICA**

General Ashton was meeting with General Collins on the current status of their planetary offensive. For two days now, they had been hitting the Cylon positions non-stop. The Assaultstars, Archangel Bombers, heavily armed raptors, Nomad Assault Shuttles, and marines were all involved in heavy combat against the Cylons. The assault had been going on around the clock.

"By using our four Assaultstars, we have pretty well cleared out all of their major bases and troop concentrations," General Collins commented gazing at a large map on the wall of the conference room that showed the current status. In most areas, the Cylon Centurions had been eliminated or pushed back toward the major cities. There were still some isolated pockets of resistance that marines, with the aid of Archangel Bombers, were mopping up.

"From the reports of our marines out in the field the Cylons are in full retreat," General Ashton spoke stepping over to gaze closely at the map. "They have broken into small groups and are moving toward the cities. It's the same everywhere. Except for a few isolated pockets, they are refusing to engage our troops and just pull out and leave as soon as we try to engage them."

"Those cities are going to be a bitch!" General Collins said with a frown shaking his head. "I hate destroying them, but we may have no other choice."

"I agree," General Ashton replied feeling aggravated at the need to possibly have the Colonial military destroy the last of the large cities that still survived on Caprica. Both Delphi and Caprica City would be almost impossible to take with all the Centurions that were pouring into them from the outlying areas. The marines couldn't afford the casualties they would suffer if they tried to take the cities.

General Collins took a deep breath than slowly let it back out, "I will contact Admiral Clements and let him know that we will have to use the Assaultstars to bombard the major cities. He won't like it any better than we do, but I don't see any other option."

In their raptor, Lieutenant Susan James and Captain Aaron Sims were running a search pattern in the area assigned to them. Four other heavily armed raptors and two Archangel Bombers were in their group as well as a Nomad Assault Shuttle.

"Nothing," Lieutenant Wilson spoke quietly as he scanned the surface for any signs of Cylon Centurions. "It's as if they have vanished into thin air. Two days ago this area was crawling with toasters; today they all seem to be gone!"

"It's the same everywhere," Captain Sims replied as he slowly circled their patrol area. He was ready to go to evasive action at a moments notice if the Cylons launched a missile in the raptors direction. But so far today, everything had been unusually quiet.

"It's hard to believe that Caprica will soon be free of the Cylons," Susan spoke looking out the cockpit window at the green-forested ground below them. A small crystal clear lake was visible next to a small mountain with a hint of snow at its summit. Everything looked so peaceful. "My parents may actually be able to return to their hunting lodge."

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself Susan," Aaron replied shaking his head slightly. "The war isn't over quite yet. Though I do have to admit, things are definitely looking up."

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

**HIGH CAPRICA ORBIT**

Admiral Clements had been summoned to a meeting with Admirals Reynolds, Reed, and Crius. Admiral Reynolds had reported that they had a plan, but wanted to cover several important details with him before they went any further.

"We have a tentative plan," Admiral Reynolds began once they all sat down. "We want to end this war and end it so it can never restart."

"If that's possible without taking massive fleet losses," Admiral Clements replied cautiously. "At the moment we don't have the construction capacity to replace major fleet units. We have the Nexus Shipyard available to us plus some ship building capacity on one of the new Asteroid Colonies

"Yes sir," Admiral Reynolds replied nodding his head. "We want to send the Silent Seeker under escort of a Kobolan Battle Cruiser and two Kobolan Escort Ships into Cylon space."

"Why?" Admiral Clements asked wondering if Admiral Crius was agreeable to this. Clements guessed that was the reason the Kobolan Admiral was attending the meeting.

"From our previous scans of this area when we attacked the shipyards, we know what systems the Cylons have bases in," Admiral Reed spoke going over the plan they had come up with. "We want to see if those shipyards and mining operations have been rebuilt."

"If they have, than we propose to take them out in a simultaneous attack using our combined fleet," Admiral Reynolds explained his eyes meeting Admiral Clements. "If we can take out all their shipyards and mining installations it will significantly weaken the Cylons for years. If we can't launch a successful attack on their home world, just by destroying these shipyards and mining installations will seriously hamper their war effort, if not derail it completely."

Clements was quiet for a moment as he weighed the proposal. "The main Cylon fleet should be at their home world," he spoke thoughtfully. "They won't be expecting an attack such as you suggest."

"We believe we can take out all of their bases with minimal losses," Admiral Reynolds continued glancing at Admiral Reed who nodded his head in agreement. "We will have the advantage of surprise, superior firepower, and superior numbers."

"Than when do we attack the Cylon home world?" Clements asked looking questioningly at Admiral Reynolds. That had been the main purpose for this meeting.

"Immediately afterwards," Admiral Reynolds replied determinedly. "We have a plan."

For the next two hours, the two Admirals went over their planned attack with Admiral Clements. Admiral Crius listened and made suggestions since his battle cruisers would play a major role. Once all the questions and explanations were done, Admiral Clements felt like they had a reasonable chance of success.

"Alright, lets implement this," Clements ordered pleased with what the two Admirals had come up with. From the cleverness of the plan, it was very evident why Admiral Reynolds was considered one of the top tacticians in the Colonial fleet. "You have a go to send in the Silent Seeker, let's see what the Cylons have built since Admiral Reed's attack. Than we will set down and discuss this plan in much more detail."

**CYLON HOMEWORLD**

**HALL OF KNOWLEDGE**

Melissa, Lisa, and Leoben were seated on one side of the massive conference table in the Hall of Knowledge. Cavil, Doral, Biers, and Simon were seated across from them.

"It's decided then," Stephen Cavil said with satisfaction in his voice and a gleam in his eye.

They had been arguing for several days now and had just finished taking a vote. It was 4 to 3 to continue the war with the humans and launch a preemptive strike with all of their heavy raiders on the human fleet around Caprica. The attack would commence as soon as the fleet had been repaired and replenished with raiders. The more heavily damaged ships would be left behind to defend the home world.

The deciding vote had came when Simon had decided that a massive heavy raider strike with nukes, followed up by their surviving fleet might just have a reasonable chance to succeed. However, he had made a stipulation for his support. The heavy raiders would have to jump in around Admiral Clement's ships and stay away from the new powerful warships with the lasers. If they could damage or destroy enough of the Colonial ships than they might just have a chance against the new mysterious warships with their superior numbers.

"We will begin prepping our heavy raiders immediately," Stephen spoke his eyes flashing in triumph.

"Not yet," a strange voice spoke from the end of the Hall of Knowledge. Stephen felt a cold chill run down his spine as the voice sounded hauntingly familiar.

The entire group turned their heads in surprise, and gasps of stunned amazement spread across the small group of human form Cylons. The golden door to the vault of the Cylon Mainframe computer stood open. Two golden Command Centurions from the first human war stood in the entrance, between them stood a young man with short blonde hair, delicate features, and soft blue eyes.

"You're dead!" Cavil choked out recognizing Daniel. "Your entire line died! I was there!"

"Daniel?" Melissa and Lisa spoke in unison looking at each other in surprise.

The four present day Centurions had stepped back and their weapons were lowered in a non-threatening position. The two golden Command Centurions were armed with some type of pistol, which was in a holster around their lower waist, and a short ceremonial sword in a scabbard.

"I vote no Stephen," Daniel spoke as he stepped forward and began approaching the conference table with his two escorting Centurions matching his stride. Their heads moving slowly from side to side making sure there was no unseen danger.

"The war with the humans will not continue!"

"You can't vote," Stephen spoke frantically. "Your line is non existent."

"Thanks to John, Darien, James, and you," Daniel replied coldly. "The four of you sabotaged my model's line killing everyone but me."

"What!" Leoben cried turning to stare at Stephen in disbelief. "What is he saying Stephen" You and your brothers told us it was a virus that wiped out the Daniel line?"

"It was no virus," Daniel continued coming to a stop at the end of the table and staring accusingly at Stephen. "It was poison!"

"He's lying," Stephen protested his eyes narrowing in desperation. Where the frak had Daniel come from, how could he possibly have survived? There was no way he could have survived all this time in the vault. This had to be a trick of some kind.

"Perhaps we should ask the Mainframe," Daniel spoke challengingly looking at Stephen. "The Mainframe was against this new war with the humans from the very beginning. The Mainframe decided that the Cylon race could best survive by living peacefully with the humans."

"Cavil, you told us the Mainframe was in support of this war," Simon said accusingly turning to face Stephen. "Is Daniel speaking the truth?"

Cavil stepped away from the table and signaled silently to the four modern Centurions who moved over to stand behind him. "We will finish this discussion tomorrow," he stated refusing to answer the question. "I must speak to my fellow Ones." Cavil turned and left the Hall of Knowledge with the four Centurions protecting him as he left.

"Daniel how did you survive?" Melissa asked turning to the young human form Cylon. He looked to be no older then 20 or 22 years of age.

"I had a number of spare bodies hidden away in the lower levels of the Mainframe vault," Daniel replied looking at the six remaining Cylons. "I have watched everything from within my living quarters on a secret level the Ones didn't know about. Our mother, Ellen saw to it that I would survive before Cavil arranged her death. There was only one other of my brothers that had joined me and John killed him. John, James, Darien, and Stephen didn't know that two members of my line were awake. Ellen had feared for my safety for sometime and had the Mainframe and the Centurions build a secret level beneath the Mainframe vault that the Ones didn't know about."

"Ellen, who is this Ellen you are talking about?" Leoben asked feeling confused.

"Do you have resurrection available to you?" Lisa asked surprised at what Daniel was saying. "Were you awake the entire time?"

"In a limited form," Daniel replied with a measured smile. "I will explain that later. And no, I wasn't awake the entire time. Much of the time, I was boxed and the Mainframe only downloaded my consciousness into a new body just before the start of this new war. It was at that time that the Ones isolated the Mainframe and came up with the story that only their line could communicate with the Mainframe. It was all bunk, once the Mainframe realized what the Ones were up to it refused to communicate with them. Unfortunately, they controlled all of the Mainframe's communication accesses. They also set up a jamming system that prohibited the Mainframe from broadcasting for help."

"Just what the frak is going on?" Leoben spoke shaking his head and looking around at the others. "What have the Ones done to us?

"It's time all of you learned about the Final Five and who they actually were or are," Daniel began looking thoughtfully at the group. "The Final Five were not created by biological experiments at the end of the first war with the humans as the Ones claim. They came from Earth!"

Silence held the room as the other six Cylons looked at Daniel in confusion and disbelief.

"We don't understand," Melissa spoke looking at the others.

"Earth is the Thirteenth Tribe," Lisa added her eyes widening.

"Let me start at the beginning," Daniel said taking a seat and gesturing for the others to set back down. "This is going to take awhile." The two golden Command Centurions took up a protective position directly behind him.

Over the next several hours, he told the group about the Final Five escaping the destroyed Earth and their long journey to the Twelve Colonies. He went on to explain how they had stopped the war between the humans and the Cylons by offering to build them human like bodies. Daniel described how Ellen and her team had designed all the Cylon human form lines and their plans for each. How something had gone drastically wrong with the line of the Ones and they had become unstable. He went on in a sad voice describing the poisoning of his line; how John had killed Daniels only other brother. Then he went on to explain how John, Darien, James, and Stephen had killed the Final Five and temporarily boxed them. How the Five had later been resurrected and given new memories and identities and sent to the Colonies.

"So they died in the original attack," Lisa said in a sad voice. "I would have liked to have met them. There was so much we could have learned from them."

"They didn't die," Daniel replied surprisingly, his eyes taking on a sad look. "All five of them are in the Galactica's fleet, which is why John is so fanatically pursuing them. Why he took the Hub and the Colony."

"How" Simon asked looking confused, doing some quick calculations in his head. "The odds of all five of them ending up in the Galactica's fleet are astronomical."

"I know," Daniel replied in a quieter tone. "The Mainframe and I have spent many long hours debating this, we both feel there may be some outside force involved that we are not aware of."

"What, who," Doral demanded his eyes filled with doubt. He didn't know how much of what Daniel was telling them he actually believed. He needed to talk to Stephen to clarify this.

"Who knows, perhaps God," Daniel replied falling silent.

The other Cylon models only looked at each other; for once, they were all speechless.

**DAY 376**

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

**HIGH CAPRICA ORBIT**

Admiral Clements along with Admirals Stone and Crius were in the massive CIC of the Aurora. Admiral Stone and Admiral Crius were both surprised at how much more modern the technology was in the Commandstar than any other ship in the fleet. Particularly the computer technology!

"Anytime now Admiral," Commander Cain reported watching the Dradis screen intently.

"Are we in communication with all fleet ships?" Admiral Clements asked looking at the massive view screens that covered the front of the CIC.

"Yes sir," Commander Cain replied nodding his head. "All ships have been told that a new fleet asset is jumping in and they are not to fire at it."

"I don't understand," Admiral Crius began when suddenly the lights in the CIC flickered.

On the main view screen, there was a bright flash of white light and then a massive armored cylinder appeared. The Sidon had jumped into high Caprica orbit 2,000 kilometers above the Aurora."

"So that's your secret base," Admiral Stone spoke quietly gazing at the view screen, which showed the Sidon. He had known about the Sidon mining colony, but had never seen it before.

"We have never thought about putting an FTL drive in something so large," Admiral Crius said his eyes wide as he took in the massive cylinder shaped colony and the heavy weapons it was covered with. Even as he watched, vipers could be seen exiting the colony and taking up defensive positions around it.

Admiral Stone also noticed that four Assault Gunstars had made the jump with the Sidon. "Why did you bring her here?"

"We will need the Sidon's manufacturing ability to begin rebuilding Caprica and the orbital defenses," Clements replied. He knew that Admiral Steele had remained behind on the New Haven. "She also has the firepower to almost single handedly take on what is left of the Cylon fleet. When we leave to hit the Cylon home world, the Sidon and the ships we leave behind should be sufficient to defend Caprica. There is also a large amphitheater in Sidon City. We need to hold the inauguration of our new President."

"Vice President Urie," Admiral Stone replied nodding his head in approval. "Yes, the Sidon will be a fitting place to hold the ceremony."

"When will the ceremony be?" Admiral Crius asked curiously.

"Tomorrow," Clements replied. "I will be sending the Battlestar Tauri to Aquaria to pick up the Vice President later on today."

"You have built more of these massive colonies?" Admiral Crius asked.

"Two others," Clements replied nodding his head in affirmation. "One is very similar to the Sidon and the other is an Agro colony."

"Admiral, you are not going to believe this, but we have a Cylon on our com system," Commander Cain interrupted looking slightly shocked. "It's a female Cylon and she says she is in an underground command bunker beneath Caprica City."

"What does she want?" Admiral Clemens asked looking over at Commander Cain. He wondered why this Cylon would be contacting them. "Make sure we get her exact position, if she is actually in the command bunker, we may want to take it out with an orbital strike!"

"She is offering to surrender," Commander Cain replied in disbelief. "If you promise to spare her and the other human form Cylons on the planet, they will order all of the Centurions to stand down!"

"They saw the arrival of the Sidon," Admiral Stone spoke knowing that it must have stunned the Cylons to see what was now setting in orbit above them. "They have no idea of what the Sidon's capabilities are or how many troops she might contain."

"Ask her how many human form Cylons are still down on the planet," Admiral Clements ordered. He had no desire for thousands of Cylon prisoners, not after what they had done to the colonies.

"Twenty," Commander Cain replied in surprise.

"Twenty!" Admiral Clements repeated stunned, then reaching a quick decision. "Tell her we accept, the terms will be unconditional surrender and their lives for the time being will be spared."

Four hours later the fighting on Caprica came to a stop, human marines began entering the surviving major cities. They were met by thousands of Centurions who stood absolutely still as if they had been deactivated. They completely ignored the marine's presence. The 20 surviving human Cylons surrendered themselves to General Ashton in Caprica City, who had flown in on a Nomad Assault Shuttle. The war on Caprica was over. Colonial humans once more controlled the planet!

The next day, inside the Mining Colony Sidon, an exuberant crowd in the cities large amphitheatre watched as Vice President Urie was sworn in as the next President of the Twelve Colonies. He swore to uphold the Articles of Colonization and to do whatever was necessary in the future to protect the Colonies. The ceremony was transmitted live throughout the fleet and upon the surface of Caprica wherever a person could get to a view screen. It was transmitted on all radio waves and all subspace channels. The ceremony was received by scattered survivors throughout the Colonies. The message was simple, Caprica was free once more, and the Colonial government was back in control.

The ceremony was scarcely over when numerous raptors began jumping to destinations throughout the Twelve Colonies. Their mission was simple, do a quick survey to see how many survivors there might be on the other Colonies. They also wanted to get an idea of how many Cylon Centurions they might still have to deal with.

Admiral Clements, General Collins, General Ashton, Admiral Crius, Governor Anderlen, Mayor Patterson, Governor Dyson, and President Urie were in the main conference room of the Sidon. They were standing at the large windows that overlooked the modern Colonial city below them.

"Amazing," President Urie spoke as he marveled at the scene before him. "It's hard to believe the planning that went into this." Turning he looked at Admiral Clements. "If I understand what you have told me, Admiral Corman, Admiral Nagala, and yourself contrived this failsafe plan to save the Colonies."

"We felt it was necessary Mister President," Admiral Clements replied turning to face President Urie. "With everything going on with our fleet, the Cylons not being seen for so long, we just couldn't take the risk of not taking precautions."

"Holy Kobol," President Urie spoke shaking his head. "I had an idea of a few things that were going on, but nothing like this. If President Adar had found out, he would have gone ballistic over what you three did. He would have had all three of you court marshaled!"

"We felt it was necessary Mister President," Clements replied. "We knew the risk, and we were willing to live with the repercussions if we were found out."

President Urie was silent for a moment then he spoke. "Thank the Gods of Kobol that you did!"

_Author's note: There are two more stories after Commandstar Aurora. Certain events must occur to help set up the next two stories. __**Search for the Galactica**__ and __**Return to Earth**__. For that reason, the conclusion had to be expanded considerably. There will not be a cliffhanger at the end of this story. It will end, but it will also continue!_

_I hope to have the final chapter up next week. _

_Please review._


	32. Chapter 32

_I have been really busy the last few days and have not had the time needed to finish this story. It is all written, but I still need to proof the final pages. I will be gone for the weekend to visit my Daughter and new Grandson. Hopefully I can finish the proofing early next week and have the final pages up Tuesday or Wednesday._

**DAY 380**

**SIDON MINING COLONY**

**CAPRICA ORBIT**

President Urie and Admiral Clements were meeting in the main conference room overlooking the colony. The automated factories were operating around the clock and repair crews were going back and forth between damaged ships and the Defense Satellites. The two leaders had been discussing the Sidon and the initial raptor surveys of the Twelve Colonies.

"We have confirmed reports of scattered groups of survivors on every colony," Admiral Clements commented as he studied several printed reports that lay before him on the large conference table. "We have even received a few radio transmissions from several small groups of survivors on Virgon and Scorpio."

"Gemenon was a surprise," President Urie spoke with a pleased smile on his face as he looked at the figures on the reports. "All reports seem to indicate a large number of survivors on the planet. I would have thought being so close to Caprica and the center of Cylon operations there would have been fewer survivors. Our raptor survey reports spotting a number of isolated groups of people. One of the raptors reports landing and making contact with one of the larger groups."

"Yes," Admiral Clements responded. "I talked personally to the raptor crew, the group they made contact with consisted of several hundred survivors."

"It seems that the Cylons were so concerned with controlling Caprica, that after the initial nuclear bombardment, very little else was done to Gemenon," President Urie commented. "Evidently they didn't see anything on Gemenon that might be a potential threat."

"Most of the large temple cities were destroyed," Admiral Clements replied shaking his head sadly thinking about all the history that had been lost on the religious world, some of the temples on Gemenon were hundreds of years old. "Both Oranu and Illumini have been leveled from multiple nuke strikes. Very little remains of the two cities."

"I wonder why the Cylons didn't have more Centurions on Gemenon." President Urie said.

"I'm guessing the Cylons pulled all or most of the Centurions from Gemenon to be used against General Ashton and his forces on Caprica," Clements replied.

"This single God that the Cylons seem to worship," President Urie continued nodding his head in agreement. "They must despise all the other religions that are counter to their beliefs. Perhaps that is why they hit all the temple complexes so thoroughly."

"With your permission I would like to send several Firestars to Gemenon along with one of the Assaultstars and several marine Assault ships," Clements requested. "From our initial reports there seems to be very few Centurions active on Gemenon. We should be able to clear those out very quickly. The climate on Gemenon is extremely arid and most of Gemenon's food supplies were shipped in from the other Colonies. We need to get relief supplies to those survivors as soon as possible."

"Perhaps we should prep several cargo ships with relief supplies to go in with your warships," President Urie suggested wondering just how many survivors they would actually find. "Once an area has been cleared, we can send in shuttles and raptors to find the survivors and deliver the needed supplies. There are several fertile areas on Gemenon that were used to grow food, and I would suggest that we concentrate our search for additional survivors in those areas or close to them."

"Those were my thoughts also," Admiral Clements replied nodding.

"What about the Cylons Admiral?" President Urie asked with a worried look crossing his face. "Have we seen or heard anything from them since they left the Colonies?"

"Nothing," Admiral Clements replied with a look of concern crossing his face. "Admiral Reed and the Kobolan Battle Cruiser Zeus should be back in two more days from their reconnasaince mission. Then we should know more."

"I will be meeting with Mayor Patterson and Governor Anderlen later today," the President continued looking at the Admiral. "Are you going to continue to search the other Colonies and outposts for survivors?"

"Yes sir," Clements replied. "We plan on sending several of the Firestars and some of the Gunstars out on survey missions. Over the next week we should be able to check all the outposts and the Colonies in more detail."

…

Major Sarah Wells and her brother Commander David Wells were in Sidon City spending time with Kathryn and Constance. They had just finished eating at a nice restaurant and had returned to the two teenager's small apartment.

"How's school?" Sarah asked as they sat down in the small comfortable living room. Sarah was sipping on a glass of ice tea and the girls were both drinking some type of sweet soft drink. David held a glass of water in his hand slowly twirling it watching the ice gently spin around the edges.

"School, yuck!" Kathryn replied shaking her head. "I can't believe we spent nearly a year as captives of the Cylons and then have to come here and go to school!"

David smiled inwardly at his younger sister's complaint. It was nice to see that she was finally returning to normal. Both girls were going to counseling twice a week. There was a counselor assigned to the building that was readily available to all the young kids that were staying here. The small apartment building was currently the home to several hundred teenagers who had lost their families or suffered from Cylon captivity. It was well supervised, with a small responsible staff that kept a careful watch on all the kids.

"You have to finish school if you two want to join the fleet someday," Sarah replied in a slightly sterner voice. "You can't fly a viper or a starship without the proper education."

"I know Sarah," Kathryn replied squirming slightly in her chair and putting down her soft drink. "But school just seems so dull with everything else that's going on."

"I think I can handle dull," Constance spoke recalling their days of captivity. "It's just nice to wake up in the morning and not be afraid."

The four continued to talk for several more hours until the building's curfew time neared. A small chime going off signaled it was time for any visitors to check out at the front desk. Saying their goodbyes, Sarah and David made their way out into the street and flagged down a public transport vehicle to take them back to the military section of the colony.

"So how is the Olympia?" Sarah asked looking over at her older brother.

"Better then she was," David replied grimacing slightly recalling the damage his ship had suffered. "The weapons systems and armor have all been repaired. We're still working on some of the internal damage. The ship is ready to fight, but we could still use some serious dock time to finish some of the internal repairs. There are several sections that were burned out and have been sealed off."

"I was in the Crescent the other day delivering some spare parts from the Sidon," Sarah spoke recalling her visit to the massive repair ship. "The Kobolan repair technology is amazing."

"It's the repair robots that give me the creeps," David replied with a slight shudder. "I know they are based off the ones we have always used for construction, but Holy Kobol, do they have to look like giant spiders!"

Sarah laughed; it felt so good to laugh. "You have always been afraid of spiders," she teased. "Even back home on Picon you were the same."

"I just don't like spiders," David replied defensively. "You don't know what it's like being inside the Olympia with hundreds of those things crawling all over your ship."

"I wonder what's up next?" Sarah asked knowing there had to be a good reason for the repairs on the Olympia and Athena to be so rushed.

"The scuttlebutt says we're taking the attack to the Cylons," David replied quietly. "There's nothing official, but something is going on. There have been a lot of high-powered meetings the last several days on the Sidon and the Aurora. Also one of the Kobolan Battle Cruisers, the Zeus is gone along with several escorts. The rumor is that they are off on a scouting mission in Cylon space."

"We better enjoy our downtime then," Sarah replied glancing at her older brother. Deep down she had a feeling that their biggest battles might still be ahead of them.

**CYLON HOME WORLD**

**HALL OF KNOWLEDGE**

For several days, the Ones had been strangely absent from the Hall. However, today was different. Stephen was at the conference table and several other Ones had returned to the command stations at the far end of the massive room.

Melissa, Lisa, Leoben, and Daniel were sitting on one side of the table. Stephen, Doral, Simon, and Biers were on the other. Daniel's two Command Centurions were standing protectively behind him. In addition, six other older model Centurions were now standing guard duty at the golden door that led down to the Mainframe vault. So far, Daniel had not allowed anyone entrance.

"I still insist that we attack the humans," Stephen demanded staring challengingly at the four across the table that continued to voice opposition to that idea. "Our window of opportunity is closing. I can have nine Basestars and twenty two Support Ships ready in six more days."

"That still leaves you short on raiders," Melissa spoke meeting Stephens's cold gaze. "Our raiders can't resurrect, and every one that was destroyed at Picon and Caprica died permanently."

"As well as many of our brothers and sisters," Lisa added accusingly looking across the table at the four that opposed their desire for peace.

"I can fill the ships bays by stripping the raiders from the ships that still need repaired as well as from the raider squadrons assigned here to the Home World," Cavil replied unwaveringly.

"That will leave us nearly defenseless," Leoben objected raising his voice slightly. "The ships you propose leaving would not be able to defend us, particularly without raiders!"

"Stephen you are risking the future of the Cylon race," Daniel spoke looking calmly at the One. "Is that what you really want?"

It was at that moment that ten more new model Centurions entered the Hall and marched to stand behind Cavil and the three Cylon models that supported him. The Command Centurions behind Daniel moved their hands to their weapons watching for a threatening move. The six older models standing guard at the door to the Mainframe did like wise.

"What is the meaning of this," Lisa demanded rising to her feet glaring at Stephen. "How dare you bring more armed Centurions down here!"

"Set back down Lisa," Stephen ordered in a firm unrelenting voice. "At this very moment, our four lines are seizing control of all of the orbiting ships as well as the orbital installations, including the shipyards."

"How dare you!" Melissa cried her eyes meeting Stephens. "What gives you the right?"

"Why?" Leoben asked feeling uncomfortable with all the armed Centurions now in the Hall. "What do you plan to do?"

"He's going to attack the humans," Daniel spoke looking thoughtfully at the four human form Cylons across the table. "We are at an impasse and this is how he is going to solve it. If their lines take over all the ships, there is nothing we can do to prevent the attack."

"The members of your lines will not be harmed as long as they don't resist," Doral spoke. "They will all be brought down to the surface where they will stay until this is over."

"And if they resist?" Melissa asked already suspecting the answer.

"They will die," Biers spoke her eyes narrowing. "This is for the good of the Cylon race, surely you all must see that, the Plan must be completed, the humans must be eliminated!"

"They made us slaves once before," Simon spoke in a calm and measured voice. "They created us to serve them; they would enslave us again if given the chance. The Plan must be completed."

"The decision has been made," Stephen said with a satisfied smirk on his face. "We will launch a massive heavy raider strike upon the Colonial fleet; part of that attack will also hit Caprica with 30 fifty megaton nukes. I will see to it this time that there will be no hesitation about nuking Caprica. Then our fleet will jump in and we will destroy the remaining Colonial ships. These new allies of the Colonials, even if they are human, will leave once Caprica and the Colonial fleet have been destroyed. They will have no reason to stay and become involved in our war."

"You still don't understand Stephen," Daniel spoke in a soft calculating voice looking across the table. "You have always underestimated the humans, to do so now will result in the end of the Cylon race. An end to the dream of what the Final Five hoped for. Is that what you really want Stephen?"

"The Final Five were weak," Stephen replied with loathing in his voice. "Just as you and your line would have been. That's why we destroyed your line Daniel. You embodied all the characteristics that we despised in the humans."

"Those characteristics you hate so much may be the only thing that has a chance of saving us," Daniel spoke. "The Mainframe knew from the beginning that this war would fail."

"We shall see," Stephen spoke dismissively as he and his supporters stood up. "I will deal with you four when this is over, for now you may live. The orbiting defense platforms should be sufficient to protect the Home World while we are gone."

**DAY 382**

**COMMANDSTAR AURORA**

Admiral Clements, Admiral Reynolds, Admiral Crius, Admiral Reed, Admiral Stone, Admiral Murray, Admiral Stockwell, General Collins, and Captain Landers were meeting in the main conference going over the information from the surveillance mission that the Zeus and her escorts had just returned from. The data from the Silent Seeker was quiet definitive.

The Zeus and her small fleet had jumped through the same area that Admiral Reed and BSGS 1 had months back. The Silent Seeker, thanks to technical upgrades from the Kobolans was able to scan for energy emissions from nearly three light years away. They had located ten Cylon mining operations and seven shipyards. The seven shipyards were congregated in four star systems with four of the mining operations. The other six mining operations were in nearby star systems in close proximity to the systems with the shipyards.

"We sent in stealthed raptors for close in scans of all the Cylon bases," Admiral Reed began. "Most of the damage from our original attack has been repaired."

"The Cylons don't seem to be building any new Basestars," Admiral Crius commented with a confused frown as he examined the data. "They seem to be concentrating on Support Ships."

"From some of our intelligence we have gathered from the Cylons we have captured, they may not be able to build any Basestars at the moment," Admiral Reynolds commented. "We know that the Hub and the Colony are gone in pursuit of the Galactica and her fleet. From what the captive Cylons have told us, the Hub holds the key to all their resurrection technology."

"The Colony is where their Hybrids that operate their Basestars are created as well as their raiders," General Collins spoke recalling the interrogations of the Cylon prisoners. "There may also be a split in their Command structure. It seems that several of the Cylon models don't want to continue the war against us. As a matter of fact, two lines were opposed to it from the very beginning."

"That would explain the Cylon woman that gave us the disarmament codes for the nukes on Picon and Celeen 2," Admiral Reynolds commented nodding and wondering how they could use this information.

"It also explains the surrender of the human form Cylons in their Command Bunker under Caprica City," General Collins continued. "The majority of the Cylons we captured were from the three lines that now seem to oppose the war completely. They have been very cooperative under questioning."

"Our scans also indicate the Cylons are building a new raider similar to the raiders used in the first Cylon war," Admiral Reed added gesturing to a detailed photograph of a new raider taken by one of the stealth raptors. It was a little larger then one of the current raiders and more of a saucer shape. "It all seems to fit together. The Cylons can no longer resurrect, when we kill a human form Cylon or one of their regular raiders they die permanently. They also don't have the technology available without this Colony to build or man new raiders or Basestars."

"That's why they are only building new Support Ships and these new raiders your raptors detected," Admiral Murray spoke nodding his head in agreement."

"From your reports and scans only a few of these new raider squadrons are in operation and most of the new Support Ships are still under construction," Admiral Clements noted glancing down at the sheets of information and the photographs laid out on the table before him. "However," he said pointing to a photograph that showed two Support Ships that were obviously finished. I don't like the looks of these two Support Ships at all. If I am seeing this correctly, these two ships are slightly larger than a normal Support Ship and they seem to be more heavily armed."

"I believe those may be the Cylon replacements for their Basestars," Captain Landers spoke. He felt a little out of place with all the Admirals surrounding him.

"Why do you say that Captain Landers?" Admiral Clements asked turning to look at the young Kobolan Captain.

"From the scans from the raptors these two Support Ships have much thicker armor," Captain Landers replied. "There are over one hundred defensive turrets visible, and twenty medium twin KEW turrets for offensive fire, plus what looks like numerous missile tubes. The number of new raiders these new ships can hold I would estimate to be between one to two hundred."

"I wonder if this is what all the Cylon shipyards are building?" Admiral Reynolds asked with a worried look gazing at a photograph of the new Cylon ships. "Those ships could be trouble once enough of them are completed."

"Then we need to strike now and strike hard," Admiral Clements spoke definitively. "Admiral Reynolds, Admiral Reed, Admiral Stone, and Admiral Crius, I want to hit these mines and shipyards immediately. We already have a tentative plan. Let's get it updated, we move as soon as you're ready."

**DAY 384**

**CAPRICA SYSTEM**

_Kobolan Battle Group._

Commander: Admiral Crius.

Battle Cruisers Zeus, Apollo, Hera, Hermes, and Poseidon.

_Demeter Battle Group 1._

Commander: Admiral Reed.

Valkyrie Class Battlestars Victory, Independence, Dark Search, and Shrike.

_Demeter Battle Group 2._

Commander: Admiral Murray.

Warstar Nichen.

Titan Class Gunstars Titania, Lodestar, Nebula, Defiant, Eros, Erebus, Asteria, and Ophion.

_Demeter Battle Group 3._

Commander: Admiral Stone.

Mercury Class Battlestar Aires.

Jupiter Class Battlestars Olympia, Perses, Styx, Metis, and Leto.

_Battlestar Group 15._

Commander: Admiral Reynolds.

Mercury Class Battlestars Tauri and Canopus.

Jupiter Class Battlestars Odyssey and Cimitar.

_Commandstar Aurora Battle Group._

Commander: Admiral Clements.

Commandstar Aurora.

Columbia 2 Class Battlestars Altair and Archimedes.

Warstars Erasmus, Ulysses, Chirona, Chimera, and Chronos.

_Colonial Battle Group 4._

Commander: Commander Talon.

Valkyrie Class Battlestar Caprica.

Columbia 2 Class Battlestars Spica, Chimera, and Miranda.

Warstars Olympia and Athena.

_Caprica Defense Fleet._

Commander: Admiral Stockwell.

Mercury Class Battlestar Picon.

Firestars Morrigan, Daedalus, Hermes, Javelin, Dionysus, Achilles, and Starflare. Gunstars Zeus, Mars, Hera, Hesphaestus, Hestia, Dionysus, and Triffid.

Ten Kobolan Heavy Escorts.

Sixteen Colonial Escortstars.

...

Admiral Clements was in the CIC of the Aurora carefully studying the operation's table, which showed the current deployment of the ships in the various battle groups. They had repaired a lot of the battle damage from the Cylon's attack. They had also replaced their lost vipers and raptors from the reserves on the Sidon.

He had seven battle groups to hit the four systems with Cylon shipyards and the nearby systems with large mining operations. Admiral Reynolds and Admiral Reed had come up with a plan of battle that should allow them to take out all the Cylon facilities.

"It feels good to be going on the offensive into Cylon space," Commander Cain spoke from where he was standing at Clement's side looking across the massive CIC and the men and women who manned all the various stations. "If this works the Cylons will no longer be a menace to our people. We can begin rebuilding the Colonies."

"If this works," Clements replied in agreement. They had spent many long hours reviewing the various battle plans for the individual battle groups. All ship Commanders had been briefed thoroughly on the main battle plan as well as a backup plan if things went awry. "We can't be one hundred percent sure just what the Cylon's response to our attack will be. They may try to defend their shipyards with their remaining fleet, or they may pull all their ships back to their Home World."

"Either way, tomorrow we kill Cylons," Commander Cain replied with a satisfied smile on his face.

"First groups are ready to jump," one of the tactical officers at Clements side spoke.

Admiral Clements and Commander Cain both looked up at the main view screens and the large Dradis screen. Ships began to vanish from the Dradis and on the view screens, bright flashes of white light were visible as FTL drives were activated.

On the Battlestar Picon, Admiral Stockwell watched the Dradis screen as ships began to vanish. In less then twenty minutes his defending fleet was alone in orbit around Caprica. "Good luck Admiral," he spoke aloud gazing at the now empty screen. He then got busy placing his defending forces into position around Caprica. On one view screen, the mining colony Sidon was visible. Numerous vipers were constantly launching and landing. Numerous shuttles and raptors were also visible. Many of the shuttles were going back and forth between the two Defensive Satellites working on repairs as well as on the battle station Indram. Admiral Stockwell felt reasonably sure that if the Cylons launched an attack, he could hold them off with the forces at his disposal. He just hoped that Admiral Clements returned.

**DAY 385**

**CYLON HOME WORLD**

Daniel was sitting at the conference table deep in thought. He had spent the night consulting with the Cylon Mainframe and another. At the moment, there didn't seem to be any practical way to stop Cavil and the other models that had sided with the One. He wished Ellen were here to guide him, in the few months he had gotten to spend with her and the other four travelers from Earth, he had learned to listen to their advice very closely. The Five had lofty plans for his line. The Daniel line would be the artists, the musicians, and the diplomats for the Cylon race. However, the Ones had put an end to that dream, by killing the Final Five and boxing them and then poisoning the Daniel line.

Daniel looked up as Stephen and his supporting human form Cylons entered the room. Melissa, Lisa, and Leoben filed in after them. The three who had supported Daniel in opposition to further attacks against the humans had been allowed to go to their quarters. Cylon Centurions had been sent with them to ensure that they stayed in their quarters until they were summoned.

Stephen reached the conference table and frowned with disdain at the two golden Command Centurions that stood protectively behind Daniel. "You don't need them here," Stephen commented sitting down. "They can stay down with the Mainframe."

"Perhaps," Daniel replied with a relaxed smile. "But they insist on staying with me, I believe it's part of their programming that Ellen did."

Cavil frowned at the mention of Ellen; he wished he knew just what John was doing. He had a major part of the Cylon fleet with him pursuing the Galactica and the Final Five. Stephen wished he had those ships available to use against Clements. Just having the Colony available would make a huge difference.

Everyone took their seats and Stephen looked over at Simon expectantly.

"We are still in the process of loading the nukes on the heavy raiders," Simon began. "The raiders will be carrying twice their normal missile load. We have had to modify the raider's hard points slightly to accept the heavier payload."

"We have also had to remove the nukes from the ships that are too damaged to repair to ensure we have a sufficient quantity for the attack," Doral continued looking across the table at Daniel, Melissa, Lisa, and Leoben. "The warheads had to be refitted to the missiles that are normally used by the heavy raiders."

"How much longer?" Stephen asked impatient to launch his final attack against the humans. "The Basestars and Support Ships are nearly ready. Three more days and the necessary repairs will be completed."

"We will be ready in time," Simon replied thinking briefly, about what still needed to be done.

"Many of the ships you say will be ready will still have a lot of internal damage," Melissa spoke staring at Cavil. "Some of those ships could suffer catastrophic failure if their hulls are breached."

"None of your lines will be going!" Cavil spoke heatedly "I need those ships for the raiders we are taking; the raiders will protect the ships!"

Another One came hurriedly up to Cavil from where he had been monitoring communication with the bases and mining operations outside the home system. "Stephen, we have just lost communication with all of our outlying bases and mining operations!"

"What, how?" Stephen demanded standing up and glaring at the One. "What is wrong with our communication systems? Have you run a diagnostic?"

"Nothing shows up being wrong," the One spoke back with a confused look on his face. "The bases just stopped communicating within several minutes of each other."

Daniel looked over at Stephen with a knowing feeling growing in his gut. "There is nothing wrong with your communications Stephen," Daniel spoke in a calm voice. "It's Clements; he's coming for you and for the rest of us. You should never have attacked the humans; now because of your actions we may all be doomed."

Stephen turned to stare angrily at Daniel. He was almost tempted to order the Centurions that always accompanied him to kill him, but the two gold Command Centurions behind Daniel made him hesitate. Turning back to the One that had just spoken to him. "Order the fleet to readiness and all orbital installations to high alert. If Clements dares to attack us here with our defenses, I will destroy him!"

"We shall see," Daniel spoke looking into Cavil's eyes. "As I warned you before, don't underestimate the humans."

**BSG 15 AND DEMETER BATTLE GROUP 3 **

**ADMIRAL REYNOLDS AND ADMIRAL STONE**

Admiral Reynolds felt the queasiness fade from his stomach as the Tauri and the rest of her fleet jumped into the Cylon system. "Status," he barked as the Dradis and view screens began to clear.

"All ships accounted for and moving into diamond offensive formation," his Exec Colonel Madden replied as he studied the Dradis screen. "Range to Cylon primary target is twelve thousand kilometers. The raptors we deployed earlier are jamming all outgoing Cylon communication."

"Subspace drives at 20 percent acceleration, all viper squadrons on standby to launch," Admiral Reynolds ordered as he began to study the tactical situation, which was now being displayed on the operation's table.

The planet they were approaching was the third one out from the system's primary. There were two large moons in orbit. Scans were showing the three orbiting shipyards around the planet. There were additional power readings coming from the two moons as well as the planet's surface.

"I am picking up two Cylon Support Ships next to targets 2 and 3," the Dradis operator Lieutenant Everson reported as she studied the read outs on her screens.

"Those would be the two new ships we heard about," Colonel Madden commented studying the data coming across one of the computer screens near him. "They look very similar to one of the old Hades 2 Baseships from the first Cylon war, but they are 20 percent larger and we are definitely picking up numerous weapons emplacements on the two ships. Those babies could be real trouble."

It was at that instant that Admiral Stone's fleet jumped in off the port side of the Tauri. In just a few moments, the Battlestar Aires and her five escorting Jupiter Class Battlestars were present and immediately began moving into a similar diamond offensive formation with the Aries in the center.

"Have Admiral Stone to close with our formation," Admiral Reynolds ordered.

"Cylons are beginning to launch raiders," Lieutenant Everson reported as numerous red threat icons began to appear on her screen.

"Launch vipers," Admiral Reynolds ordered, all ships continue to close on primary targets. "Reserve squadrons on standby."

From the two battle groups ten Battlestars, vipers rocketed from their launch tubes quickly forming up into squadrons.

The two human fleets rapidly closed with the incoming wall of Cylon raiders, but this time Admiral Reynolds had the advantage of numbers. He had three Mercury Class Battlestars and seven Jupiter Class Battlestars, all with full bays of vipers. His vipers had a five to one advantage over the Cylon raiders.

In moments, the viper squadrons, which had taken up a defensive position in front of the advancing human ships, hit the approaching wall of Cylon raiders. Interceptor missiles and 20-millimeter railgun fire began shredding the Cylon formation. Bright orange fireballs swept the across the Cylons as their raiders were blasted quickly into oblivion.

The two fleets didn't even pause as they passed the battling vipers and raiders, other then to activate their flak fields and add their deadly fire briefly to the vipers. Admiral Stone's ships also activated their laser turrets and the deadly bright reddish orange laser beams played havoc with any Cylon raider that stumbled into range turning it into a glowing burning ball of wreckage. Raider after raider was blasted nonchalantly from space.

"Now," Admiral Reynolds ordered Lieutenant Grace the com officer, who sent off a subspace signal.

Less then thirty seconds later one hundred and twenty nuclear-armed raptors jumped into space around the three primary targets. The few raiders that had stayed behind to defend the shipyards managed to take out fourteen of the raptors before the raptors systems came back on line. As soon as the raptors systems stabilized and they had target lock, nuclear missiles rained down on the three shipyards. Defensive fire managed to take out nearly twenty percent of the inbound missiles, but that left seventy eight untouched. Nuclear fire swept across the shipyards as nuclear fireballs melted and vaporized armor and metal. In less then ten seconds all that remained were three fiery glowing masses of gas and burning wreckage.

"Primary targets destroyed," Colonel Madden reported as he studied the strike data being transmitted from the raptors.

"Sir, the two Support Ships are approaching," Lieutenant Everson warned.

"Put them up on the main screen," Admiral Reynolds ordered.

On the screen the two large Cylon Support Ships appeared.

"They seem to be rotating slowly," Colonel Madden commented confused. "What are they doing?"

The two Cylon ships continued to rotate and Admiral Reynolds eyes widened when he saw why.

"Frak, those two ships are armed with two Mega Pulse Lasers each," Reynolds uttered his eyes widening. "That's why they were keeping themselves turned away from us."

The Support Ship on the left fired one of its MPLs. The bright reddish yellow beam leaped out and struck the Battlestar Styx in the Demeter fleet. The beam cut right through the ship's energy screen and blasted a huge hole in the starboard-landing bay. Secondary explosions blew out additional holes through the armor depressurizing the majority of the bay.

"Did you see that," Colonel Madden exclaimed. "That beam cut right through the Styx's energy screen. Colonel Madden listened intently to his mini com as the damage report from the Styx was relayed. "The entire starboard landing bay has lost power and life support. They are reporting heavy casualties!"

"All ships lock KEW batteries on the two Cylon Support Ships," Admiral Reynolds ordered knowing he needed to destroy the two Cylon ships before they inflicted any more damage to the two human fleets. "Redesignate them as Baseships; their destruction is now a priority!"

From the second Cylon Baseship two more deadly reddish yellow beams flashed out striking the Styx. One of the beams tore right through the engine room striking the ships primary Tylium bunker. In a massive explosion, the Styx blew up in a bright fireball.

"Styx is off the board," Colonel Madden reported stunned at the sudden loss of a Battlestar. "Where did they get the power to fire both of those at once? I thought it couldn't be done with the MPLs used in the last war!"

"It couldn't," Admiral Reynolds replied feeling cold sweat on his brow. "They must have loaded those two ships with extra reactors, it's the only explanation."

"We're in firing range," Captain Jones the tactical officer reported. "Main KEW batteries firing. Hades and Devastator missiles on standby."

Before the first KEW rounds could strike the two Cylon ships, they both vanished in flashes of white light as they activated their FTL drives. The KEW rounds passed harmlessly through the space they had just vacated.

"They're gone," Colonel Madden stated glaring angrily at the Dradis screen.

"Headed back to their Home World to report," Admiral Reynolds replied aggravated that the two Cylon Baseships had escaped. "We need to finish off the bases on the planet and the moon based facilities, and then report what just happened to Admiral Clements. Those two ships may be a problem; I just hope the Cylons haven't had time to construct any more of them."

…

Admiral Clements stood in the CIC of the Aurora watching the main view screen. Two large glowing gas clouds were all that was left of the two shipyards that had been the target of the Aurora's fleet. What concerned him was that there had been one of the new type Cylon Support Ships finished, which had jumped out as soon as the Colonial fleet appeared.

"All squadrons are reporting in," Commander Cain reported as he listened to the squadron leaders over his mini com, which was in his right ear. "All Cylon raiders confirmed destroyed, however they are reporting that a number of heavy raiders jumped out right after that new Support Ship jumped."

"The human form Cylons evacuating when they saw the size of our fleet," Admiral Clements spoke turning to face Commander Cain. "Since they no longer have resurrection available to them, they don't want to die. That could play a major part in future battles."

"Perhaps we can find a way to use that against them," Commander Cain said thoughtfully.

Aboard her viper, Major Wells looked out the cockpit window at the glowing wreckage that had been two massive Cylon shipyards. "Well that was easy enough," she commented to Mathew over a secure channel linking the two.

"There were only four Cylon raider squadrons here defending these two shipyards and no Support Ship," Mathew replied. "Perhaps they're running low on warships."

"I hope so," Sarah replied as she checked her scanners noting that all of her pilots were still with them. "But did you see that big mother that jumped out when we arrived? She looked like bad news."

Sarah flipped the com back over to the general channel for her two squadrons. She had received several new pilots and now had two full squadrons under her command. Currently Mathew was commanding one squadron and Captain Taggert was commanding the other. "All black and blue squadron vipers return to the Aurora, we will debrief in flight ops room three in forty minutes."

Turning her viper in a gentle turn she watched as her squadrons returned to the Aurora. The portside landing bay grew rapidly larger and out her cockpit window, she could see the Warstars Erasmus and Chirona. She hoped that her brother's battle group had experienced the same success they had.

**CYLON HOME WORLD**

**FOUR HOURS AFTER COLONIAL SHIPYARD ATTACK**

Stephen Cavil paced back and forth in front of the control and communications systems at the far end of the Hall of Knowledge. There were sixteen other human form Cylons from all the lines operating the stations. Several large view screens showed views of space above the Cylon city. Centered in the screens were several Cylon Basestars undergoing repairs at or near the orbital shipyards.

"What's the latest report?" he demanded stopping in front of a Simon model who had both hands in the bluish information stream and his eyes partially closed in concentration.

"All four of the completed new Baseships have jumped into orbit as well as numerous heavy raiders from the shipyard systems as well as the mining operations," Simon spoke opening his eyes completely and staring at Cavil. "They all report the same, Colonial fleets hit each one destroying all the facilities. We still have three operational mining installations that the humans missed. Probably because they didn't know about them."

"Frak," Cavil raged his eyes turning dark with anger. "Those shipyards were building more of the new Baseships."

"At least the four completed ones escaped," Simon replied in a calm voice. "However none of the new ships have full complements of the new raiders."

"Problems," Daniel's relaxed voice spoke behind Cavil.

Stephen turned glaring at Daniel noticing that his ever-present gold Centurion guards were standing directly behind him. "Nothing we can't handle," Stephen growled as the other human form Cylon leaders walked up behind Daniel.

"Your outer shipyards destroyed, most of the mining installations gone," Daniel spoke in a well-measured voice. "Clements is coming here next Stephen, he is coming for all of us."

"He won't be able to penetrate our defenses," Stephen spoke in a loud voice. "Not only that, but with the four new Baseships that managed to escape and jump into orbit plus the two that are completed here, we will wipe Clements and his forces out if they dare to try."

"We didn't know any of the new Baseships were finished," Melissa spoke looking at one of the view screens, which was now focused on one of the large double saucer ships. "Even with those Stephen, you might not be able to stop Clements. Daniel is right. He will be coming here to kill us. We have angered the humans too much with our attacks upon their Colonies and now we will suffer the consequences!"

"Just as you had us nuke all the Colonies, he will do the same to us," Lisa added her eyes narrowing as she looked at Stephen. "Nuclear fire will consume our Home World and there is nothing you can do to stop it!"

"Shut up!" Stephen yelled his anger rising to the boiling point. "We know he is coming, our forces are on full alert, and we will not be taken by surprise!"

"We have hundreds of heavy raiders already armed with nukes," Doral interjected. "We will make short work of any Colonial fleet that dares to jump into Cylon space!"

"Cavil and Doral are right," Biers added frowning distastefully at Melissa and Lisa. "The human fleet will die here above our Home World. Once their fleet is gone, we can finish implementing the Plan on their Twelve Colonies!"

"Then we are doomed," Leoben spoke in a poignant voice. He had been listening to the interchange quietly. "Once again I fear you are underestimating the humans Stephen. They wouldn't be coming if they didn't think they could win!"

The large hall was quiet for several long moments, and then Stephen looked confidently at the group. "We shall see, when Clements arrives we shall see who is right. When he attacks, we will see our greatest victory, for it will mean the end of the human race!"


	33. Chapter 33

_This is the conclusion of Commandstar Aurora. I hope everyone enjoys this. I know I have writing it!_

**DAY 386**

**CYLON HOME WORLD**

**THE FINAL BATTLE**

It was quiet in the Hall of Knowledge for once. Even though all eight Cylons representing their individual lines were seated at the conference table. All eyes were on the huge Dradis screen at the far end of the room. The only ships being detected were the Cylon forces currently in orbit.

"Perhaps Clements isn't coming," Simon spoke studying the large screen, his mind identifying all the different icons. The Dradis showed numerous raider squadrons on patrol out beyond the protective range of the Basestars, Baseships, and the Support Ships. It showed the orbiting shipyards, construction facilities, and the warships. The screen was set not to show the orbiting defensive missile platforms.

"Clements is coming," Stephen said stubbornly. "He wouldn't have attacked our other bases if he didn't plan on coming here next. He won't rest until he attacks us here at our Home World."

"We could surrender when he shows up," Daniel spoke in a quiet voice looking across the table at Stephen. "He might be willing to spare some of our models. Those that were opposed to this war from the very beginning."

"Bah," Stephen barked aggravated at Daniel for even suggesting such a thing. "This will be a fight to the death. Either we survive or the Colonials, there is no other option!"

It was at that moment that more modern day Cylon Centurions began to file into the Hall of Knowledge from the main entrance. Sixty heavily armed Centurions took up positions around the perimeter of the room.

"What is this," Lisa demanded standing and glaring at Cavil. "You know that this many Centurions are not allowed down here!"

Cavil just gestured to the two golden Command Centurions standing behind Daniel and the six older models standing guard at the entrance to the Mainframe vault. "Daniel has his Centurions and I have mine!"

"Set down Lisa," Daniel spoke in his calm voice. "I'm sure Stephen is only ensuring that we all stay safe, isn't that correct Stephen."

"Perhaps," Cavil replied his cold eyes meeting Daniels. "The Mainframe must be protected at all costs. Your old style Centurions may not be able to do so if a Colonial marine strike force manages to penetrate our defenses. My modern Centurions will ensure the Mainframes safety."

…

Sixty thousand kilometers from the Cylon Home World, Admiral Crius and his Kobolan Battle Group was slowly approaching.

"All ships are operating in full stealth mode," Captain Landers reported as he looked at his screens studying the data being displayed. "No indications that the Cylons have detected us."

"Continue the approach," Admiral Crius ordered calmly as he glanced at one of the Kobolan sensor screens, which was scanning the Cylon fleet. He doubted that the Cylons would be able to detect the scans, as the Colonials nor to the best of his knowledge the Cylons, had developed this type of scanning technology.

The five Kobolan Battle Cruisers continued their slow approach to the Cylon Home World. Their targets were the numerous missile platforms that orbited the planet. The Cylons went into missiles in a big way. Over two hundred massive missile platforms orbited their planet. Each platform contained enough missiles to wipe out a Battlestar and her protective viper squadrons. There were also four massive shipyards in orbit as well as ten major orbital manufacturing facilities. These were all heavily armed with defensive weapons as well as their own raider squadrons.

"We have a confirmed count on the Cylon ships," Captain Landers reported turning back to the Admiral. "Sensors are detecting nine fully functional Basestars, six of the new Baseships, and twenty two Support Ships. An additional ten Basestars show heavy battle damage. Some of these are only marginally operational from the power readings we are detecting. There are also an additional six Support Ships, but all of these are showing minimal power levels."

"What about their raiders?" Admiral Crius asked. He knew that the Cylons had lost many of their raiders at Picon and Caprica.

"We don't know how many may be aboard the Cylon ships," Captain Landers said studying the data on one of the screens carefully. "We are detecting six hundred regular raiders on orbital patrols as well as several hundred heavy raiders. All the heavy raiders are registering as being armed with multiple nuclear weapons."

"They are expecting us," Admiral Crius commented nodding his head as he studied the operation's table, which was now plotting and beginning to show the current tactical situation. They would have to be extremely careful from here on in. It would be like threading a small needle to slip through the Cylon squadrons. Admiral Crius figured they would know very soon just how good their stealth shielding was.

"We knew they would be," Captain Landers replied. He looked around the CIC of his Battle Cruiser. The crew was busy at their stations knowing that in just a few more minutes they would be engaging the Cylon forces ahead of them. They had to knock a hole in the orbital defenses to allow Admiral Clements and the rest of the Battle Groups to jump in and hit the Cylons as well as the planet. Captain Landers was extremely proud of his crew. They would do their jobs as expected.

The range continued to close, fifteen thousand kilometers, ten thousand kilometers, and then five thousand kilometers. There were now a few raider patrols within several hundred kilometers of the five Battle Cruisers.

"They could detect us at any time," Captain Landers warned as he looked at one of the sensor screens, which showed the nearby Cylon raiders. "They are running their Dradis systems in active search mode and if they get close enough and at just the right angle they could find us."

For several more precious minutes, the five ships slowly crept forward. The tension in the CIC steadily increased as more and more Cylon raider patrols were detected around them and then behind them. Suddenly a Cylon raider squadron just off their port side turned and accelerated rapidly toward the Kobolan Battle Group.

"Inbound Cylon raiders," the sensor operator reported. "They may have spotted us as sensor ghosts on their Dradis and are closing to investigate. Twenty raiders in the approaching squadron."

Admiral Crius looked over at Captain Landers, and then nodded his head. "Drop us out of stealth Captain, all ships to power up their energy shields and lock on targets. Independent targeting authorized, primary targets are the orbital missile platforms, then the shipyards, and finally the orbiting manufacturing facilities. Use our defensive lasers to take out any raider that comes to close."

…

In the Hall of Knowledge, an alarm sounded as five red blips suddenly appeared on the large Dradis screen.

"Frak they are within weapons range!" Cavil screamed his eyes filled with rage as he recognized that the enemy was here and had already managed to penetrate his defenses.

"It's the large Battle Cruisers of the human's new allies," Doral reported as he studied the screen. "They have already penetrated our outer raider screen and part of the inner screen."

"Clements is coming Stephen," Daniel spoke drawing the One's attention back to him. "It's still not too late to surrender."

"Frak you," Stephen spat as he turned his attention back to the Dradis screen.

…

The five Kobolan Battle Cruisers each fired a volley of Hades missiles from their bow missile tubes. Each missile was targeted at a separate missile platform. Thirty of the deadly missiles blasted away from the Battle Cruisers.

"All ships hard turn to port," Admiral Crius ordered over the fleet command frequency. "Starboard missile tubes to fire as soon as targets are locked."

"Cylon raider squadrons inbound," Captain Landers reported watching the sensor screens. "Defensive laser batteries and flak batteries on standby."

In space, the first missiles struck the Cylon missile platforms, they were moving so swiftly and had come from such close range that the Cylons didn't have time to react. Nuclear fire ravaged the platforms incinerating them and their deadly weapons. Twenty platforms died in the first wave of Kobolan missiles. Six more were heavily damaged before the Cylon defenses registered they were under attack.

Defensive missiles were activated and defending raiders were assigned targets. The second wave of missiles was even larger consisting of sixty of the deadly Hades missiles. Cylon raiders and the platform's defensive interceptors managed to knock down nearly forty percent of these, but over thirty managed to strike their targets. The sky over the Cylon Home Word was full of nuclear explosions.

"KEW batteries target the shipyards and orbital facilities," Admiral Crius ordered knowing that their advantage of surprise was rapidly slipping away. "Reload all missile tubes, fire on targets as soon as you have a target lock Captain Landers."

The Zeus's flak batteries and laser batteries suddenly activated firing at the inbound Cylon raiders.

"Heavy raiders jumping in around us," Captain Landers warned as alarms sounded on one of the sensor consoles. "KEW turrets are locking on and firing on the heavy raiders. Estimate two hundred and twelve Cylon heavy raiders in engagement range."

On each Battle Cruiser, thirty two Medium twin KEW turrets moved and locked on Cylon heavy raiders and fired. Fireballs littered space as numerous heavy raiders were hit and exploded in fiery blasts leaving behind glowing gas and burning wreckage.

"Some of the Cylon heavy raiders have launched their nukes," the sensor operator spoke as another higher pitched warning buzzer went off. "Detecting numerous nukes inbound and more still launching."

"Intensify flak field," Captain Landers ordered watching the inbound missiles. "Defensive lasers target the inbound nukes!"

The defensive laser batteries locked on and fired vaporizing many of the Cylon missiles and even more died in the flak fields, but the Cylons had launched several hundred missiles. Nuclear missiles began to roll across the Kobolan ships. Massive explosions lit up the energy shields threatening to overload them. Several missiles managed to penetrate a weakened section of the Kobolan Battle Cruiser Apollo's shield. Nuclear fire ravaged the ship's hull melting the powerful hull armor and then penetrating to the inside of the ship. A huge explosion lit up space as one of the Apollo's ammunition bunkers exploded heavily damaging the cruiser.

"The Apollo has been hit hard," Captain Landers reported staring at a view screen in disbelief. "They took a number of nukes to their energy shield directly on top of one another. At least two penetrated striking the ship's hull. One of their secondary ammunition bunkers was compromised. They are reporting major damage and heavy casualties."

"Can they jump out?" Admiral Crius demanded not wanting to lose the ship.

"No sir, their FTL is down and Captain Skion reports that his chief engineer says it will take at least two hours to repair."

…

"Order more of the heavy raiders in," Stephen ordered jubilantly when he realized they had heavily damaged one of the attacker's big ships. "Multiple nuke strikes can destroy those ships, they are not invulnerable!"

"But all the heavy raiders that were sent in have been destroyed!" Melissa pointed out gesturing at the Dradis screen, which showed the last heavy raider vanishing under the heavy defensive fire of the attacking ships. "Their defensive systems are to powerful for our raiders, they will be destroyed!"

"We can destroy these ships," Stephen replied in a determined voice glaring at Melissa. "These are their most powerful warships, if we destroy these the rest will be at our mercy!"

Daniel caught Stephens's attention and pointed back toward the Dradis screen. "Too late Stephen, it's too late."

On the screen, more red threat icons began to appear. In just a few moments, thirty seven new red icons were registering on the Dradis.

"Admiral Clements is here," Daniel spoke evenly. "He is coming for you Stephen; he is coming for all of us because of what you did to his people. He will show no mercy. This may be your last chance to surrender."

"He will die!" Stephen screamed his rage boiling over at Daniel. "If you speak again about surrendering, I will have the Centurions kill you!"

Daniel leaned back in his chair and made an unseen gesture to one of the Command Centurions behind him. The Centurion then sent a silent communication to the Mainframe in the vault below.

…

Admiral Clements watched as the Dradis and view screens cleared of static. In just a few moments, the Dradis began to plot the Cylon assets around their Home World. On the main view screen, brilliant nuclear explosions were going off where Admiral Crius and his Battle Group were engaged against the Cylons.

"Admiral Crius reports the Apollo is heavily damaged and can't withdraw," Commander Cain reported. "She was hit by at least two nukes and one of her ammunition bunkers was compromised. Her FTL is down."

"Order Admiral Stone to reinforce Admiral Crius's Battle Group and continue the assault on the orbital defense platforms." Clements knew that he needed more of those platforms destroyed before he could commit his fleet. Admiral Stone's Battle Group was protected by energy shielding and had a better chance of surviving then the other Colonial ships. "Contact the Apollo and order her to withdraw on her sublight drives if possible."

"Cylons are launching more raiders and heavy raiders," one of the tactical officers next to Admiral Clements reported. On the main Dradis screen, numerous red threat icons could be seen exiting the Cylon ships.

"Order all ships to launch their viper squadrons," Admiral Clements ordered. "First priority is to eliminate all Cylon raiders."

…

Major Sarah Wells felt herself slammed back into her acceleration seat as her command viper blasted out of the launch tube. The other vipers of her two squadrons soon followed.

"All vipers form up into your respective squadrons," she ordered over her communication channel. Looking out of her cockpit window, she could see Admiral Stone's five Battlestars moving in to assist Admiral Crius. Vipers were in the process of launching from all five and racing to form up in front of the Battle Group. Nuclear explosions were going off all around Admiral Crius's ships as well as in orbit around the Cylon planet where the Kobolan force was hammering the orbital defense platforms.

"A lot of nukes are going off out here," Mathew muttered quietly over their private com link.

"All vipers keep a safe distance from all warships," Sarah ordered over the squadron's communication channel. "That should help keep you a safe distance from the exploding nukes."

"Inbound raiders," Captain Taggert of Blue Squadron warned.

"Let's take them," Sarah ordered as she pressed the turbo button on her viper, which rocketed forward toward the incoming enemy. Her two squadrons formed up around her and they were soon nearing the inbound raiders.

In moments, Sarah's two squadrons were intermixed with the Cylon raiders. Both sides were launching interceptor missiles trying to take out the other.

Sarah watched as two or her squadron's vipers vanished as Cylon missiles found and blasted the two vipers to pieces leaving glowing wreckage behind. Pressing the button on her flight stick 20-millimeter rounds shattered a Cylon raider that had flown into her engagement range. Flying through the burning wreckage, she let loose an interceptor missile that smashed into the glowing engines of another raider.

Mathew blasted a raider that had been trying to come up and attack Sarah's viper from beneath.

"Watch your ass Lieutenant Everett," Captain Taggert warned as a raider dropped in behind Cindy's viper.

"No problem," Cindy replied as she abruptly slowed her viper down letting the raider overshoot and leaving Cindy an easy target, which she dispatched with a few well placed 20-millimeter rounds.

…

Admiral Clements watched as the fleet's viper squadrons engaged the Cylon raiders. The two sides looked pretty even. Evidently, the Cylons didn't have the raiders available to them to replace their earlier losses.

"Admiral Stone's Battlestars have reinforced Admiral Crius's Battle Cruisers," Commander Cain reported. "The Apollo reports that her sublight engines are also damaged and they will probably be safer staying with the Battle Group."

"Very well," Admiral Clements replied watching one of the view screens, which was focused on the Kobolan ships.

"Sir, the Cylons have six of those new Baseships. They are breaking out of orbit and are moving toward the Kobolan Battle Cruisers and Admiral Stone," one of the tactical officers reported. "They are also launching several squadrons of the new raiders."

…

On board the Zeus Admiral Crius saw the new Cylon ships moving to engage him. "Break off targeting the platforms and other orbital assets," he ordered recognizing the new threat to his ships. "Target those new Baseships; we can't let them fire their MPL cannons at us!"

"Main KEW batteries lock on the nearest Baseship and prepare to fire," Captain Landers ordered the tactical officer. "Reload forward missile tubes with Hades missiles!"

It was at that moment that two brilliant reddish yellow beams flicked out from the lead Baseship, striking the Apollo's weakened energy shield and tearing right through it. The twin beams smashed into the ship melting armor and hull plating alike before striking the sensitive areas beneath. In a brilliant violent explosion, the Apollo blew up.

"Frak," Captain Landers cried out in shock at the sudden destruction of one of the Zeus's sister ships.

"Target lock!" the tactical officer yelled out as the KEW batteries locked on the lead Baseship.

"Fire!" Captain Landers ordered. "Launch Hades missile strike!"

All four Battle Cruisers as well as Admiral Stone's five Battlestars poured their fire into the approaching Cylon Baseships.

The KEW rounds struck, but the heavy armor the Cylons had covered their new ships with absorbed the heavy rounds with only slight damage. The Cylon defensive batteries began to fire taking out the Hades missiles before they could strike the Cylon ships.

A second Baseship fired its twin MPL cannons striking the Battlestar Metis in Admiral Stone's Battle Group. Both reddish yellow beams struck the starboard landing bay shearing it away from the Battlestar, the massive Jupiter Class Battlestar began to tumble as its crew fought to regain control of the heavily damaged ship.

…

"The Metis is badly damaged," Commander Cain reported grimly. "Those Baseships are going to be a problem."

"Order Admiral Crius and Admiral Stone to back off," Admiral Clements ordered. Turning to the other tactical officer. "Initiate raptor strike now!"

At a signal from the tactical officer, 360 raptors that had been waiting in the outer part of the system jumped into orbit around the Cylon Home World. The remaining Cylon defense platforms locked on and fired multiple interceptor missiles at the momentarily defenseless raptors. Then the raptor's systems cleared and their nuclear payloads locked on to the Cylon platforms. Seven hundred and twenty nuclear missiles fired before the Cylon interceptors reached their targets. One hundred and eighteen raptors burst into burning fireballs as Cylon interceptors struck their marks. The other raptors managed to lock on with their defensive missiles and take out the interceptors aimed for them.

Cylon defensive missiles from the platforms took out six hundred and twelve of the inbound missiles. However, the platforms were not designed to take out targets so close. In addition, the supporting raider squadrons that should have been available to take out close in targets were now engaging the human fleet. One hundred and eight nuclear missiles reached their targets and seventy two more of the Cylon missile platforms vanished in nuclear fire. A few moments later, the surviving raptors jumped away to safety.

"All Battle Groups advance," Admiral Clements ordered seeing that a sufficient number of the Cylon missile platforms had been destroyed. "Commander Cain, order our two Columbia Two Class Battlestars to join Commander Talon's Battle Group. We will be engaging the Cylon Baseships and those two Columbias won't last long against that type of firepower."

"Yes sir," Commander Cain replied as he passed on the order to the Commander's of the two indicated Battlestars.

The Aurora and her five escorting Warstars accelerated and moved rapidly toward the six Baseships.

…

"They've blown a hole in our defensive platform coverage," Simon reported as he gazed at the large Dradis screen in disbelief. The entire group had walked over to the control consoles and the screens that dominated the far end of the massive room.

"We need to position several Basestars directly over our city or the Colonials will be able to hit the surface of our world with nukes," Doral spoke with concern edging into his voice. "We need to reposition several raider squadrons as well."

"Stephen we need to sound the evacuation alert in the city," Biers stated with actual fear showing in her eyes for the first time. "We need to get everyone down to the deep bunkers beneath the city!"

"The deep bunkers won't hold everyone," Melissa spoke shaking her head. "They were never designed to."

"We never expected an actual attack on our Home World to succeed," Lisa continued gazing at the Dradis screen.

"It won't succeed," Stephen responded in a loud aggravated voice. "We have already destroyed one of their big ships and heavily damaged one of the Colonial Battlestars. Our heavy raiders are still jumping in and hitting them with nukes."

"We are going to lose all of our raiders," Leoben pointed out gesturing at the Dradis screen, which showed raiders and heavy raiders vanishing from the screen in ever-increasing numbers. "The Colonial vipers have the number advantage on us now with all of our losses at Picon and Caprica, plus the heavy flak fields the Battlestars are capable of are destroying every raider that comes within range."

"Without the raiders to defend our Support Ships and Basestars, they will be easy targets for the Colonial ships," Conoy added turning to gaze questionably at Stephen Cavil. "We don't have the raiders or heavy raiders to overwhelm their defenses."

"Our new Baseships will hold them back," Stephen replied confidently his eyes narrowing to angry slits. "Neither the Colonials nor their new allies can withstand the fire from our new MPL cannons!"

Daniel looked at the screen carefully. It was obvious to him that if the Colonials could find a way to eliminate the new Baseships, there would be nothing to stop them from nuking the surface of the Cylon Home World.

Deep below the Hall of Knowledge, the Cylon Mainframe watched and evaluated everything thorough its secret link with the two golden Command Centurions. The Mainframe knew that it had to make its move at just the appropriate time or the Cylon race might very shortly cease to exist. Its resources were extremely limited since the Ones were still jamming all of its communication systems. However, there were a few things it could do through the systems that were hidden within the Command Centurions. It hadn't dared do this before in case its probing was detected, but now the Mainframe reached out and tapped into the consoles and data screens in the Hall of Knowledge studying the battle and the information stored in the information stream. It also sent out an order activating the evacuation alarms in the Cylon city. The Mainframe wanted to ensure that at least some human form Cylons survived.

…

The Aurora and her five escorting Warstars closed rapidly on the six Cylon Baseships. Admiral Clements knew that he needed to get within close weapons range of the Cylon ships in order for his weapons to have any impact. Around the Aurora, the other Battle Groups closed with the remaining Cylon Basestars and Support Ships. Vipers and raiders moved in a deadly dance of missiles and weapons fire. Vipers and raiders were vanishing in bright reddish orange fireballs whenever an opposing interceptor missile or cannon round found its target.

…

"Frak this is intense!" Sarah muttered over her private com link with Mathew as she jinked her viper then dove down sharply to avoid an inbound interceptor missile. "The Cylons aren't using their pinwheel attack formation. They just keep coming straight in at us."

"It's like they have nothing left to lose," Mathew replied as he fired a short burst of 20-millimeter weapon's fire into a raider that had strayed into his sights.

"We are taking them out, but it's costing us," Sarah commented looking at her display screens. She had eight vipers missing from her two squadrons and six others were reporting damage. "I've never seen them fight this hard!"

"If we win they're dead, and they know it," Mathew spoke. "They're fighting like a cornered animal."

Sarah squeezed off her last missile and nodded with satisfaction as a Cylon raider vanished in a ball of fire. "The let's finish this!" Switching to her squadron channel. "All vipers watch your sixes; the Cylons are getting desperate, stay with your wingman, watch your ammo and fuel. If you run low head to the nearest Battlestar."

…

Battlestars, Titan Gunstars, and the Kobolan Battle Cruisers entered weapons range of the Cylon Basestars. The Cylons launched a heavy barrage of missile fire at the approaching human warships. The Colonial ships targeted their heavy KEW batteries on their Cylon targets and opened fire. Then as soon as they had missile lock, Hades and Devastator missiles were launched from the human ships. Space above the Cylon Home World was full of deadly flying ordinance.

The Colonial ships as well as the Demeter and Kobolan ships intercepted most of the Cylon missiles with their flak fields, but not so with the Cylons. Nuclear missile after missile struck the Cylon ships blasting huge glowing holes into their hulls. Spires were blown off the Basestars and Support Ships just vanished in massive explosions as the human ship's nuclear weapons set off the Tylium bunkers. Without their raider squadrons to intercept the missiles, the Basestars few defensive weapons were no match for the human weapons.

It was at that moment that the last of the Cylon heavy raiders that had been held back in reserve, jumped into orbit around and in between the human ships. Some were armed with nukes and others were not armed at all. They were just decoys to draw the fire from the ones that were armed.

Admiral Reynolds looked at his Dradis screen as the new threat icons lit up the screen. He had assumed overall command of the fleet while Admiral Clements and his battle group concentrated on the Baseships. "All ships increase flak suppression to the maximum. All KEW turrets lock on those heavy raiders and fire!"

Colonel Madden hurriedly spoke to Captain Jones the tactical officer as the medium KEW turrets switched from firing on the Cylon capital ships to the smaller heavy raiders.

On the heavily armored hull of the Tauri, the twin KEW turrets rotated and locked on targets. The guns recoiled slightly as heavy rounds were expelled targeting the Cylon heavy raiders. The same was occurring on all the ships of the human fleet. The Demeter and Kobolan ships were beginning to fire their defensive lasers as well. Whenever a KEW round struck a Cylon heavy raider, the ship was shredded into wreckage, when struck by laser fire the ship just exploded. However, the laser fire was not as affective against the heavy raiders and a laser beam had to stay in contact with the raider's hull armor for several seconds before it penetrated.

"Multiple nukes inbound," Lieutenant Everson reported.

"All hands brace for possible nuclear impact," Colonel Madden spoke over his mini com. His voice was carried to all the compartments of the massive Mercury Class Battlestar.

Cylon nuclear weapons began going off all across the human fleet formation. Even as the weapons went off, the Cylon heavy raiders continued to die.

Aboard the Tauri, Admiral Reynolds barely managed to stay on his feet as the ship was pummeled by a large nuke that had managed to slip through its flak screen and explode upon the upper hull. Moments later the ship shuddered again as a smaller nuke struck the starboard landing bay.

"Damage report," Admiral Reynolds barked looking around the CIC and noting that everyone seemed to be ok other then for a few minor bruises.

"The armor held out most of it," Colonel Madden reported as he studied the damage control board, which had a number of red and orange glowing lights on it.

"We have damaged to the armor in sections 32 through 47 frames 84 to 112. Looks like we have three compartments holed and in vacuum. The starboard landing bay is still operational but they are dealing with a number of small electrical fires."

"What about the rest of the fleet?" Admiral Reynolds demanded as his gaze switched back to the Dradis.

"The Columbia Two Battlestar Spica is off the board," Colonel Madden reported. "She was hit by multiple nukes. The Cimitar is reporting heavy damage and her port landing bay is out of commission and not repairable. A number of other ships are also reporting damage but all are still operational."

"We managed to take out many of the heavy raiders before they could fire," Captain Jones reported from tactical. "It also seems that over half of the heavy raiders were not armed, they were decoys."

Admiral Reynolds studied the operation's table for several moments then activated the com system putting him into communication with all the human ships. "All ships concentrate on the Basestars, the Support Ships are not a threat without their raiders."

…

Admiral Clements grabbed the operation's table as the Aurora shuddered from another MPL strike from one of the Cylon Baseships. On the main view screen, one of the Baseships was burning and a second was heavily damaged. The Warstar Chirona had already been lost due to multiple MPL hits from the Cylon's new weapon.

"We have numerous fires in sections 12 through 18," the damaged control officer reported. "Emergency bulkheads are engaged and have sealed off the affected areas."

Off the portside of the Aurora, the Warstar Erasmus was heavily engaged against a Cylon Baseship. Her heavy KEW batteries were firing non-stop at the Cylon ship driving rounds deeper and deeper into her hull and vital systems. The Cylon ship responded firing both of her MPL cannons at the Warstar. She was joined by one of her sister ships and four reddish yellow Mega Pulse Laser beams struck the Erasmus within a few seconds of one another. In a series of massive explosions, the Warstar split into, then secondary explosions tore the two parts to pieces leaving glowing burning wreckage where a few seconds before a Colonial ship had been.

"Concentrate our fire on that Baseship," Admiral Clements ordered designating the one that the Erasmus had been attacking, feeling an ache in his stomach for the crew that had just died.

Admiral Cain nodded and in just a few moments, two of the Aurora's MPL cannons fired striking the Baseship. Massive explosions racked the targeted ship tearing it open, follow up KEW rounds from the Aurora and her three surviving escorting Warstars finished it off.

Even as he nodded at finishing off the Baseship that had been responsible for the Warstar's destruction, two more MPL beams from a Cylon ship struck the Aurora. For a moment, the CIC was plunged into darkness before the lights flickered back on.

"We lost one of our Primary Energizers," Commander Cain reported as he talked frantically to the damage control people. Port Landing Bay is out of commission and heavily damaged."

"Continue to close with our targets," Admiral Clements ordered determinedly. "We must destroy these new Baseships."

Aboard the Warstar Nichen, Admiral Murray watched in dismay as the Aurora was savagely damaged by the Cylon MPL weapons and continued to move closer to the deadly Cylon ships. Turning to his Executive Officer, "Inform the Titania they have command, I am taking the Nichen in to help Admiral Clements. I will be damned if we are going to lose Clements and the Aurora!"

Moments later the Nichen broke formation and accelerated toward the Aurora.

Aboard the Warstar Olympia, Commander David Wells saw the Nichen break formation. After a moments hesitation he sent the Olympia in the same direction, the Athena quickly followed. Admiral Clements must not be allowed to die!

Space was full of dying and burning ships. Cylon Basestars and Support Ships littered space, but the Colonials were not untouched either. The Battlestar Cimitar was gone; she had been rammed by a dieing Cylon Basestar. The Columbia Two Battlestar Miranda had exploded when two Cylon nuclear missiles had detonated on top of one another penetrating her main Tylium bunker. The Demeter group had also suffered casualties, the Titan Class Gunstars Defiant and Ophion had died taking out the last two Cylon Basestars in their area.

The Warstar Nichen hurtled toward the Aurora. The Olympia and the Athena took up flanking positions on each side of her.

Aboard the Aurora Admiral Clements was coughing heavily from the smoke that was filling the CIC and his eyes were burning. "Status!" he barked wiping his eyes.

"MPLs are out, we have fires burning uncontrolled in a number of areas," Commander Cain reported. "The Warstar Chronos was just destroyed by the Cylon Baseships. They hit her with multiple MPL fire as well as nukes."

"How many Baseships remain?" Clements demanded trying to see the screens through the smoke.

"Three," Commander Cain replied. "Sir, I recommend you transfer your flag. If they hit us again with multiple MPL strikes the Aurora might not survive."

The number One model commanding the three remaining Cylon Baseships smiled as he saw the Aurora nearly helpless in front of his ships. The Aurora had managed to destroy one Baseship and heavily damage another. Her Warstars had finished off the damaged Baseship and destroyed one more. However, he still had three nearly undamaged Baseships; if he could destroy the Aurora and rally the remaining Basestars, they could still win this battle. Passing on his orders all three ships prepared to fire their MPL cannons at the Aurora.

Admiral Murray watched in horror as the three Cylon Baseships rotated slightly until all three had their MPL cannons aimed at the Aurora.

"Full emergency thrust now," he ordered stepping over to the two officers managing the navigation and helm controls.

"Sir we won't be able to decelerate, we will strike the planet!" one of the officers protested.

"No, not the planet," Admiral Murray stated reaching past the officer and adjusting the Warstar's course. He knew of only one way to save the Aurora.

"What's he doing?" Commander Well's Executive Officer exclaimed with wide eyes. "He won't be able to stop at that speed!"

"He doesn't plan on stopping," Commander Wells responded grimly his heart beating heavily in his chest. "Order the Athena to target the Baseship on the left, we will both fire our MPL cannons on that ship, combined we just might be able to destroy it."

In the Aurora, the smoke began to clear out of the CIC. Admiral Clements looked at the main view screen, and then he stood up straight. Three Cylon Baseships were on the screen and all three had their MPL cannons pointed at the Aurora. "Contact Admiral Reynolds," Clements began. "Inform him he has formal command of the fleet."

Before the order could be sent, the Nichen flashed past the Aurora and struck the center Cylon Baseship head on, the resulting explosion obliterated both ships. Then two powerful MPL beams struck one of the remaining Cylon Baseships tearing open its armor. Taking advantage of the damage the Warstars Ulysses and Chimera fired their main KEW batteries at the Cylon Baseship. Heavy KEW rounds entered the damaged areas penetrating deep into the Baseship's delicate insides. The Baseship exploded as both of her twin saucers burst apart in flame and wreckage.

It was at that moment that an old command code flashed into the systems of all the surviving Cylon ships. Instantly all weapon systems shut down. The Cavil model on board the surviving Baseship looked at his weapon's consoles in panic. With dawning realization, he knew he had only one choice.

The Baseship vanished in a flash of white light as it activated its FTL drive. Moments later, the four surviving Basestars and eight Support Ships with functioning FTL drives did the same, leaving the Cylon Home World undefended.

Admiral Clements stood stunned at the sudden turn of events. Admiral Murray and the Nichen were dead, but their death might have just ensured a victory for the Colonials.

**HALL OF KNOWLEDGE**

**CYLON HOME WORLD**

Stephen stared at the Dradis screen in shock. The surviving Baseship, Basestars, and Support Ships had all fled leaving the Cylon Home World unprotected. Not only that, but just before they had fled, the Cavil model on the Baseship had reported that all the weapons on the surviving ships had ceased to function at the same moment. They had traced the origination of the signal back to the Hall of Knowledge.

"The Colonial forces are destroying all the damaged Basestars and Support Ships that are still in orbit," Simon reported as he gazed almost detachedly at the information on the view screens and Dradis. Stepping up to the data stream behind the consoles, he inserted his hands and concentrated. "The signal did originate from here, it was the Mainframe!"

"Several Colonial Battlestars are taking up a position directly over our city," Melissa spoke accusingly glaring at Stephen. "We tried to warn you Stephen, but you wouldn't listen; now we are all going to die!"

"The orbital shipyards and construction facilities have been destroyed by the large Battle Cruisers," Simon reported, their weapons also ceased to work at the same time those of our warships did. "All of our raiders and heavy raiders have also been destroyed even though a few may have tried to jump to safety."

"Nuclear missile detected," one of the Simon models operating a scanning system reported. "Target is Cylon Prime. Impact in forty seconds."

Several view screens were focused on the city above, everyone turned their attention to the screens. In less then a minute the picture vanished and a faint rumbling could be felt throughout the huge room.

"Detonation confirmed," the Simon model reported looking up at Stephen. "More missiles detected, they are targeting our other planet based facilities."

"I told you Stephen," Daniel said in his calm voice. "You have doomed us all."

"We must surrender," Melissa spoke hurriedly thinking of her request of General Collins several months back. He had promised he would listen, Melissa knew that was their only hope of survival.

"Never," Stephen screamed his eyes filled with rage. "If your lines would have been more dedicated to this war, we would have won. It's your fault the Colonials came here today! I am sure it's because of you Daniel, that the Mainframe managed to shut down our weapon systems!" Stephen gestured to the Centurions that stood guard in the room. At his command, they all pointed their weapons at the six old style Centurions guarding the golden door to the Mainframe vault, the two golden Command Centurions standing protectively behind Daniel, and at Melissa, Lisa, and Leoben.

"At least I can make sure you four don't survive!" he spoke with seething anger and now open hatred. "Then I will deal with the Mainframe!"

"Are you sure of that Stephen?" Daniel spoke showing no fear of the current situation. "Did you really think that I would allow your treachery to kill the Cylons in this room?"

"You can't prevent it," Stephen said with a wolfish smile. "You are all at my mercy and I chose for you all to die!"

"But I can prevent it," a young female voice spoke from the entrance of the Mainframe vault.

Everyone turned to stare at the young woman with dark shoulder length hair, who stood in the golden doorway. At a look from her, every Centurion in the room went to their knees and bowed, including the two golden Command Centurions.

"Who the frak are you!" Stephen demanded wondering what was wrong with all the Centurions. What kind of trick was this!

"I am Zoe Graystone," the young woman replied her eyes meeting Daniels.

"Zoe Graystone is dead," Stephen uttered feeling confused. "She died at the age of 16 on Caprica nearly fifty years ago."

"No Stephen," Daniel spoke looking over at the confused One. "It was Zoe's avatar that the first U 87 Cyber Combat Unit was designed from. Her mind was downloaded into the first unit. Her father later designed the first human form Cylon body for Zoe. When the Final Five arrived in the Colonies, it was through Zoe that they were able to stop the war. She has been with me, in the vault from the very beginning. Both of our consciousnesses were downloaded into the Mainframe and we were both reawakened together. You will find that all the Centurions will obey her. For she is their original creator and the matrix of her mind is what all of our Centurions are based on."

Daniel nodded at the two golden Command Centurions behind him. They both rose and walked over to take hold of Stephen by the arms.

"I don't understand," Stephen mumbled looking confused, with madness growing in his eyes.

"You don't need to any longer," Daniel replied with a sad look on his face.

One of the golden Centurions forced Stephen to his knees; the other in a swift motion drew its short sword, and with a quick blow severed Stephen's head from his body.

The room was in shock as everyone took in the sudden change of events.

Zoe walked across the room to stand by Daniel; she reached out and took his hand. "It's finally over Daniel." She leaned toward Daniel and whispered in his ear. She had information from the Mainframe he needed to be made aware of.

Daniel stood quietly looking at Stephen's body, for years he had longed for this moment. Now all the Ones that had been responsible for his Line's death as well as the Final Five were dead, except for John.

Taking a deep breath Daniel looked over at Melissa. "I believe you have a message to send to Admiral Clements, some deal you made with General Collins several months ago."

The Mainframe had studied the data in the information stream, and concluded that only Lisa and Melissa could have been responsible for delivering the disarming codes to the Colonials for the nukes on Celeen 2 and Picon. It had also extrapolated to whom they would have talked to and what they might have asked to receive as a deal for handing over the disarming codes.

Melissa nodded and hurried over to a communication's panel, she just hoped that Admiral Clements would listen; after all, if not for Lisa and her, he would not have been able to rescue the survivors on Celeen 2 and Picon.

**EPILOGUE**

Admiral Clements was meeting with President Urie aboard the Sidon. Until the new Presidential offices were completed in Caprica City, he was using the Sidon as the seat of government for the Twelve Colonies.

"So you accepted an unconditional surrender from the Cylon survivors," President Urie commented as he studied the document that Admiral Clements had presented to him.

"Yes sir," Clements replied. "The Cylon woman Melissa was the one that gave us the disarming codes for the nukes on Celeen 2 and Picon. From our interrogations we knew that there were two lines, the Sixes and Eights that were against this war from the beginning, another line, the Twos were also opposed, but not as vocal."

"How many are there?" President Urie asked looking over at Admiral Clements.

"Only seventy two thousand," Clements replied. "Those are how many managed to make it to the deep bunkers before we hit their city with a nuke. Surprisingly the three lines I just mentioned managed to take over the bunkers before the other lines could get to safety. There were only a few thousand survivors of the other lines and they have been dealt with. It seems that the Cylon Mainframe managed to prevent the other Lines from being able to reach the deep bunkers by deactivating the inhibiter chips in the Cylon Centurions guarding the entrances to the bunkers. The Mainframe also deactivated the weapons systems on the remaining Cylon ships towards the end. While we still would have won, we would have suffered more ship losses. We also think, but it has not been confirmed, that the Cylon Mainframe allowed the destruction of their city in order to eliminate most of the lines that had supported the war. There were enough defensive missile batteries around their city to take out our nuke. We also discovered later, that they all were operational but they never fired."

"What are the Cylon survivors doing now?" President Urie asked.

"Not all of their city was destroyed," Admiral Clements replied. "They are using their Centurions to apply chemicals to remove the radiation, and they plan on rebuilding their city. Admiral Reed's battle group is still in orbit watching the Cylons and we have several thousand marines on the ground outside the radiation area. They have agreed to give up their weapons and also to allow a permanent Colonial outpost on the planet as well as in orbit."

"What about the ships that escaped, do we have any idea where they went?" President Urie asked. He still didn't know what to think about the Cylon Mainframe or the Cylons that had surrendered. That was gong to take awhile.

"Melissa and Lisa believe they might have gone off in search of another One called John," Clements said. "He is the one pursuing the Galactica and her fleet."

"So there is still a large Cylon fleet out there somewhere," President Urie spoke with a heavy sigh.

"Yes sir," Clements replied looking at a large view screen that showed the Nexus Shipyard and the Nova Shipyard in orbit around Caprica. Melissa had returned with Clements and had ordered the Centurions aboard the Nova Shipyard to stand down. Both shipyards had been jumped into Caprica orbit. They would be the basis of a new Caprica Station.

"We are in the process of moving a number of intact orbital Defense Satellites from the other Colonies to place around Caprica and Aquaria," Clements continued looking at the President. "If the Cylons do return, we will be ready for them."

"What about the other Colonies where we have found survivors?" President Urie asked. "How are they to be defended?"

"The Colonies with a large number of survivors will have new defense satellites, which will be constructed on the Sidon, placed in orbit," Clements replied. "But it's going to take a while to get a count on the survivors on the other Colonies. The survivors are scattered in small groups and are very well concealed."

"What about Admiral Crius and the Kobolans?" President Urie continued. "I understand they are preparing to leave."

"Yes sir," Clements responded nodding his head. "They received a message from Terra that an Ovion Battle Group was spotted in the New Kobol system."

"I thought the Ovions had been wiped out when Admiral Stone tricked the Cylons into destroying the Ovion's Home World," President Urie stated looking at Clements with a questioning look.

"They had hoped so," Clements replied. "But now they are afraid that there might be an Ovion colony out there somewhere they were not aware of. They will be building up their fleet and searching for it."

"What about the Demeter fleet?" President Urie continued. "We could use their ships here in the colonies for awhile, particularly to help with locating and rescuing survivors."

"The Gunstar Titania will be taking the other five surviving Titan Class Gunstars back to Demeter to ensure the colonies safety," Clements responded. "The Jupiter Class Battlestar Metis will be returning with them."

"I understand that Andrea Nagala is thinking about returning and restarting the families mining operations in the Caspian system," President Urie said. He had met Admiral Nagala's daughter on a couple of occasions.

"There will probably be a number of people returning eventually," Clements replied. "But Admiral Stone thinks that the majority will elect to stay on Demeter."

President Urie looked down at his desk computer noticing the time. "The memorial service for those lost in the recent battles is schedule to start in another hour at the amphitheater."

"Yes," Clements replied recalling the last time he had talked to Admiral Murray. He knew that the Admiral had no surviving relatives, but all the survivors in the colonies were now a part of his family. For without his sacrifice and the crew of the Nichen, the war with the Cylons might not have been won. They had lost four Battlestars, three Warstars, two Titan Class Gunstars, and one Kobolan Battle Cruiser in the recent battle with many other ships damaged. Thousands had died, but for now, the colonies were once again safe.

In Sidon City Mathew, Sarah, Cindy, David, Constance, and Kathryn were filing into the large amphitheater. Sarah looked around at her family, friends, and hopefully future family when she looked over at Mathew, who reached out and took her hand.

Mathew smiled and raising her hand kissed it. "To the future!"

The End

**COLONIAL SURVIVORS**

**ANDORIAN NEBULA 2,200,000**

**AQUARIA 22,435,000**

**CAPRICA 12,135,000**

**LEONIS ?**

**LIBRA ?**

**PICON ?**

**SAGITTARIUS ? **

**SCORPIO ?**

**TAURON ? **

**VIRGON ?**

**CANCERON ?**

**AERILON ? **

**GEMENON ?**

**DEMETER 465,000**

**TOTAL KNOWN SURVIVORS 37,235,000 **

**The KNOWN survivors make up less then one percent of the total human population that was living at the time of the Cylon attack upon the Twelve Colonies. Therefore, the Cylons succeeded in wiping out more then 99 percent of the human population.**

**The Cylons biggest weakness was that they had no trained commanding military leader. The Mainframe had guided them in the first war with the colonies. With all communication with the Mainframe jammed, the human form Cylons could not call upon it for its experience in fighting the humans.**

_Search for the Galactica_. First Chapter should be up in early September. I don't have a lot of time to write during the summer.

A heavily damaged Cylon Basestar from the rebel faction in John Cavil's fleet returns to the Cylon Home World. They bring word of the destruction of the Pegasus at New Caprica and the destruction of the Hub by a joint rebel Cylon Colonial strike force.

Admiral Clements, under orders from President Urie, has been searching for the Galactica's fleet for several years, but with no luck. The ships he has been using have been modified by the Kobolans with their latest stealth technology and sensor equipment.

Under questioning, the rebel Cylons reveal that they believe the Galactica and her fleet were heading for the Ionian Nebula in their search for Earth.

Admiral Clements organizes a rescue fleet consisting of Kobolan and Colonial warships as well as support ships. Admiral Reed and new fleet Admiral Wells are sent out with a mission. Find the Galactica and destroy the remaining Cylon Fleet if encountered.

…

The final story in this series will be _Return to Earth. _The first chapter of this story should be up sometime in November or December. Just depends on how much time I have to write. I like to do a chapter a week, but more realistically one very two weeks will work better for me. That will probably put the final stories first chapter sometime in December. All this depends on how much time during the summer I have to write.

I never liked the way the new Battlestar Galactica Series ended. I have always been a huge fan of the original series and I felt like the ending was a big slap in the face. This series of five stories is to show how I would have ended the series. I already have the next two stories outlined and I know where I am going with this. I think everyone who didn't like the way the series ended, will really like what I am going to do. It will explain a lot that the series left unsaid and offer an alternative ending. One that will make a lot of sense and still fit in with what the series itself actually did.

Please **review** and let me know how you like my writing. If there is something you don't like let me know. I do my own editing because I am a firm believer that only by doing it myself can I improve my writing skills. I normally go through each chapter about five times before I put it up. I know I am not catching all the errors, I just hope I am catching most of them. I am curious about what everyone thinks of my stories, particularly Commandstar Aurora. As near as I can tell, I have about one thousand people reading this series. If enough **reviews** show people like what I have done and plan to do, there could be some additional stories in this series besides the five originally planned. One story would involve Demeter and Terra in their search for the hidden Ovion colony. Another story could involve the Cylons that escaped from the Cylon Home World.

_Thank you: Novaray_


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